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COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT 



ESSENTIAL STEPS IN READING 
AND SPEAKING 



FOR TEACHERS, PROFESSIONAL SPEAKERS, 

STUDENTS, AND PERSONS SEEKING 

GENERAL CULTURE 



BY 



FRANK S. FOX, M.A. 

Professor of Public Speaking, Wittenberg College; President of 
The Capitol College of Oratory and Music, Columbus, Ohio 



Copyright, 1905, by Hinds, Noble & Eldredge 



HINDS, NOBLE & ELDREDGE 

31-33-35 West 15TH Street, New York City 



n 



UI3RARY of CONGRESS 
a' wo CJopies (i«c*v»u 

SEP. S3 4905 
oopf s. 




To my noble parents, who taught me to always do my best; 

to her, my life companion, who is the i?ispiratio?i 

of my home ; and to our quartet of children, 

whose active lives I have watched unfold 

to verify natural laws of speech, 

is this volume dedicated. 



PREFACE 

This book has been prepared in response to repeated 
requests from teachers, students, clergymen, lawyers, 
and other persons interested in general culture, who 
have desired that the Author should present his thoughts 
on speech training in a tangible form. 

While he fully believes the truth, " Of making many 
books there is no end, and much study is a weariness 
of the flesh," he has prepared this volume with the 
hope that it will place the studies of speaking and read- 
ing on a more teachable foundation, and thus help many 
persons to further their efforts to improve themselves 
in speaking and reading and to become more potent 
and efficient in these "greatest of all arts." 

After deciding to undertake the work, it was found 
to be much more difficult than at first anticipated. 
And to carry out the preconceived plan it would be 
necessary in some places to "blaze the way." On this 
account, more than eight years has the temple been 
in building. 

A properly prepared text-book is one that will impart 
instruction to the student and at the same time admit 
of being taught. This twofold phase of the work has 
been constantly kept in mind ; the aim of the Author 
being to make the text instructive without a teacher, 
and also to make a book that is strong by being taught. 
For these reasons a number of illustrations have been 
introduced that appeal to the "visual mind " ; for a con- 
crete presentation of thought is most forcible. These 



VI PREFACE 

illustrations were sketched especially for this book by 
Miss Laura Miller, the celebrated sketch artist, who drew 
the most of them from the speaker in action and from 
photographs taken especially for this work. They are 
meant to be suggestive of thought, not absolute in in- 
struction. They do not represent fancies, but fact. 

In the discussion of the several subjects the purpose 
has been to show a natural basis upon which to build, 
not a mere hypothesis nor an opinion ; assertions have 
not been accepted. A great deal of the method is out 
of the usual path of texts on speaking and reading, 
but it is the result of study, teaching, investigation, 
observation, and by actual use has been found to be 
most practical. The Methods of Breathing and of 
Voice Culture have been used with over two thousand 
students, and there has not been one failure. But 
scores of speakers and singers who have used other 
methods of breathing and voice production, and have 
developed sore throat and hoarseness, and have been 
compelled to quit their work, have been permanently 
cured by the method and practice set forth in this book. 
The author has implicit confidence in the work because 
it is based on science ; and the application has proven 
practical, and he has had not one failure in results. 
Yet he does not doubt it will be severely dealt with by 
persons who read it for the first time and who have 
never put the instructions to use. 

The book will be found useful in home study as well 
as the class room. Technical terms have been largely 
omitted because they are usually confusing to students. 
Some chapters may be thought to enter into techni- 



PREFACE Vll 

calities too much ; for example, the chapter on Articu- 
lation and the one on Pitch of the Elementary Sounds. 
But this was done because teachers in the Primary 
Grades in the Public Schools have indistinctness of 
speech to deal with in teaching, and the application 
of the principles in these chapters will cure the diffi- 
culty. As the author has explained these difficulties 
to Teachers' Institutes, he has always been asked for 
this technical work in a tangible form. Many children 
and even grown persons are psychically deaf, and can- 
not be taught the elements of a word unless taught the 
articulate positions of the organs of speech. Neither 
can they be trained to overcome the defect of omitting 
consonant sound pitches and dwelling principally on 
the vocal part of a word unless taught the technicalities 
of the Pitch of the Elementary Sounds. 

It is not expected that all will aspire to become plat- 
form artists, but inasmuch as all persons must com- 
municate with their fellow-associates, it is important 
that an effective style of speech be acquired, and for 
this purpose every chapter in this book will be found 
helpful in developing a beautiful and effective speech. 

As " Oratory is the greatest of all arts," any com- 
plete method of instruction must deal with the two 
couplets of trinities which are the bases upon which 
to build a liberal education. The first couplet of 
trinities is : — 



Intellect 


Acquisition 


Volition 


Retention 


Emotion 


Expression 



Vlll PREFACE 

the other is : — 

Wit Action 

Worth Utterance 

Words Powers of Speech 

and to train these twelve elements of a person's educa- 
tion has been kept ever in mind. 

The study of Speaking, then, consists of science as 
well as art, and may well be considered the science of 
expression and the art of its application. As a science, 
we may study it from books ; as an art, we must make 
the application of the science by actual practice. Many 
persons study the science, but fail in the art because 
they will not apply it. This book deals with the science 
and gives directions to develop the art. 

Acknowledgments for valuable suggestions are due 
Joseph M. Anderson, D.D., Columbus, Ohio ; Hon. 
Charles B. Galbreath, Ohio State Librarian ; Professor 
Edward Rhynearson, Pittsburg, Pennsylvania ; Superin- 
tendent Delos Fall, Albion, Michigan ; Professor O. E. 
Weaver of Wittenberg College ; and to the several 
authors who have so kindly permitted the use of their 
literary productions to illumine the several chapters. 

The illustrations in this book were, in the main, 
specially drawn from life poses for this work ; and are 
fully protected by copyright. 



FRANK S. FOX. 



The Capitol College of Oratory 
and Music. Columbus, Ohio, 
March i, 1905. 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Introduction . xi 

CHAPTER 

I. The Thought Sentence . . . . 3 

II. Breathing 16 

HI. Voice Culture 31 

IV. Pauses 49 

V. Emphasis 65 

VI. Articulation ....... 76 

VII. Pitch of the Elementary Sounds . . .104 

VIII. Modulation 108 

IX. Inflection 115 

X. Pitch of Voice in Speaking . . . .120 

XI. Rate 131 

XII. Movement 145 

XIII. Accent 153 

XIV. Rhythm 160 

XV. Stress and Force 167 

XVI. Pronunciation 171 

XVII. Enunciation 175 

XVIII. Quantity or Time 178 

ix 



X CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGE 

XIX. Climax and Cadence 186 

XX. Melody 193 

XXI. Syllabication 199 

XXII. Gesture Study . . ' 202 

XXIII. Personation or Character Sketching . . 254 

PART II 

Foxonian Selections 283 



INTRODUCTION 

Industry Necessary to the Attainment of Eloquence 

The history of the world is full of testimony to prove 
how much depends upon industry ; not an eminent orator 
has lived but is an example of it. Yet, in contradiction 
to all this, the almost universal feeling appears to be 
that industry can effect nothing, that eminence is the 
result of accident, and that every one must be content 
to remain just what he may happen to be. Thus multi- 
tudes who come forward as teachers and guides suffer 
themselves to be satisfied with the most indifferent 
attainments and a miserable mediocrity, without so 
much as inquiring how they may rise higher, much 
less making any attempt to rise. For any other art 
they would have served an apprenticeship, and would 
be ashamed to practice it in public before they had 
learned it. If any one would sing, he attends a master, 
and is drilled in the very elementary principles, and only 
after the most laborious process dares to exercise his 
voice in public. This he does, though he has scarce 
anything to learn but the mechanical execution of what 
lies in sensible forms before the eye. But the extern- 



Xll INTR OD UCTION 

pore speaker, who is to invent as well as to utter, to 
carry on an operation of the mind as well as to produce 
sound, enters upon the work without preparatory dis- 
cipline and then wonders that he fails ! If he were 
learning to play on the flute for public exhibition, what 
hours and days would he spend in giving facility to his 
fingers, and attaining the power of the sweetest and 
most expressive execution ! If he were devoting him- 
self to the organ, what months and years would he 
labor that he might know its compass and be master of 
its keys, and be able to draw out at will all its various 
combinations of harmonious sound and its full richness 
and delicacy of expression ! And yet he will fancy that 
the grandest, the most various, and most expressive of 
all instruments which the infinite Creator has fashioned 
by the union of an intellectual soul with the powers of 
speech may be played upon without study or practice ; 
he comes to it a mere uninstructed tyro, and thinks to 
manage all its stops and command the whole compass of 
its varied and comprehensive power ! He finds himself 
a bungler in the attempt, is mortified at his failure, and 
settles it in his mind forever that the attempt is vain. 

Success in every art, whatever may be the natural 
talent, is always the reward of industry and pains. But 
the instances are many of men of the finest natural 
genius, whose beginning has promised much, but who 
have degenerated wretchedly as they advanced, because 
they trusted to their gifts and made no efforts to improve. 
That there have never been other men of equal endow- 



INTR OD UC TION Xlil 

ments with Demosthenes and Cicero, none would ven- 
ture to suppose ; but who have so devoted themselves to 
their art or become equal in excellence ? If those great 
men had been content, like others, to continue as they 
began, and had never made their persevering efforts for 
improvement, what would their countries have benefited 
from their genius or the world have known of their 
fame ? They would have been lost in the undistin- 
guished crowd that sunk to oblivion around them. Of 
how many more will the same remark prove true ! What 
encouragement is thus given to the industrious ! With 
such encouragement, how inexcusable is the negligence 
which suffers the most interesting and important truths 
to seem heavy and dull and fall ineffectual to the ground 
through mere sluggishness in their delivery ! How un- 
worthy of one who performs the high functions of a 
religious instructor, upon whom depends, in a great 
measure, the religious knowledge and devotional sen- 
timents and final character of many fellow-beings, to 
imagine that he can worthily discharge this great con- 
cern by occasionally talking for an hour, he knows not 
how, and in a manner which he has taken no pains to 
render correct, impressive, and attractive; and which, 
simply through want of that command over himself 
which study would give, is immethodical, verbose, inac- 
curate, feeble, trifling. It has been said of the good 
preacher that " truths divine come mended from his 
tongue." Alas ! they come ruined and worthless from 
such a man as this. They lose that holy energy by 



XIV INTRODUCTION 

which they are to convert the soul and purify man for 

heaven, and sink in interest and efficacy below the level 

of those principles which govern the ordinary affairs of 

this lower world. 

REV. HENRY WARE. 



ESSENTIAL STEPS IN READING 
AND SPEAKING 



=>>**:< 



CHAPTER I 

The Thought Sentence 

Reading, as we wish to treat the subject, may be 
properly said to consist of three parts : first, finding the 
thought ; second, retaining the thought ; third, express- 
ing the thought. That line of reading known as perus- 
ing (Latin per, over; and video, to see) is not what we 
wish to discuss. Reading as a part of expression is 
more difficult and more comprehensive. This is the 
acme of communication, and when attained, the student 
will have mastered each step, for he will have passed 
from the beginning to the ideal. The word "read" 
itself is significant. It is of Anglo-Saxon origin, from 
rcedan, to advise, to counsel, to declare. From the 
word itself we have our line of duty marked out. To 
many the road will be new and probably difficult to 
travel. But do not falter ; for when you have mastered 
Reading you have acquired all the elements that lead 

3 



4 THE THOUGHT SENTENCE 

to a liberal education. Reading is probably the most 
difficult branch with which the teacher has to contend. 
This is due to the fact that so little training of a tan- 
gible character is given in this study. The object of 
these lessons is to show that it can be taught by 
another method than imitation. There are some prin- 
ciples of the study that must be understood and made 
plain. We shall omit technical terms in order to make 
the work as easy and practical as possible. 

The first step is to understand thoroughly the thought 
sentence and be able to master it in every detail. With- 
out this there must be constant stumbling, and much of 
the progress made in speaking and reading cannot but 
be of a guess-work character. All elements of thought 
gathering and of expression are based on the Thought 
Sentence. 

A Thought Sentence is a group of words which repre- 
sent a single thought. In composition we often asso- 
ciate a number of thoughts in a single grammatic 
sentence. Within this sentence we often represent a 
Thought Sentence by a single word, or by two words, 
or more. In order to get the full meaning a reader 
must be able to separate the grammatic sentences into 
Thought Sentences. Where the Thought Sentence is 
represented by a single word, ellipsis has been used, and 
in speaking or reading, pauses must be made of suffi- 
cient time to allow the listener to supply in his mind 
the words omitted. Where the Thought Sentence is 
composed of several words, some words will be more 



THE THOUGHT SENTENCE 5 

closely related to the thought than others. These 
significant words are the monuments of thoughts ; that 
is, they mark the location of the thought of the sentence, 
and the remaining words are auxiliary to the Monuments 
or Thought Words. These auxiliary words soften the 
language of the sentence. 

When skill has been acquired, as it will be by prac- 
tice in pointing out these Thought Centers, the reader 
will be able to run his eye over the page and gather all 
the thoughts in a very few seconds. The person who 
has developed himself in this work has gotten the first 
important step in learning. He will have the power to 
gather the thoughts and time to digest them ; and this 
digesting is the real work of education. 

Here may be pointed out two reasons for disliking 
an author : First, the thoughts of the composition may 
not be methodically arranged ; second, if they are prop- 
erly arranged the reader may not be able to see clearly 
the line of Monumental Words and grasp their full 
meaning. The first difficulty is due to the author ; the 
second is with the reader. This constitutes one of the 
first and most important steps in reading. Many of 
the elements of good, intelligent, comprehensive, and 
entertaining reading are based upon a clear, marked 
understanding of the Thought Sentence and the abil- 
ity to develop it; that is, to see the thought picture 
with the " mind's eye." As an example let us take 
the following from the writings of Dr. Holland. The 
dashes separate the Thought Sentences. 



6 THE THOUGHT SENTENCE 

GIVE US MEN 

God give us men — a time like this demands 

Strong minds — great hearts — true faith — and ready hands 

Men whom the lust of office — does not kill — 

Men whom the spoils of office — can not buy — 

Men who have honor — men who will not lie — 

Men who can stand before a demagogue — 

And damn his treacherous flatteries — without winking — 

Tall men — s?m-crowned — who live above the fog — 

In public duty — and in p?'ivate thinking — 

For while the rabble — with their thu?nb-worn creeds — 

Their large professions — and their little deeds — 

Mingle in selfish strife — lo ! freedom weeps — 

Wrong rules the land — and waiting justice sleeps — 

In referring to this poem, it will be observed that 
men is the first important Thought Center. It is the 
subject. Then the author realizes that there are differ- 
ent classes of men, and proceeds to describe the char- 
acter of the men he has in mind. This description is 
found in the Monuments, — sti'ong, great, true, ready, 
hist, not kill, spoils, not buy, opinions, will, honor, not lie, 
stand, damn, without, tall, sun-crowned, above, public, 
private. These Thought Centers thus far describe the 
whole man. Some show what elements are wanted ; 
others what the author would have eliminated. This 
ends the first division of the poem. 

The next division gives the reason for wanting such 
men. The Thought Centers here are rabble, thumb- 
worn, professions, deeds, selfish, weeps, wrong, sleeps. 
These fill out the list of important words in the poem. 



THE THOUGHT SENTENCE 7 

Some of these Monumental Words are more important 
than others. Some are milestones ; some are half mile- 
stones; some are quarter milestones. Around these 
Thought Centers cluster the words of each Thought 
Sentence, and are auxiliaries in the expression of 
thought. Some are of so great importance as helpers 
and approach so near the principals, that readers, not 
knowing the author's thought, sometimes differ as to 
the Thought Center, and consequently as to the real 
meaning to be brought out. This, however, we shall 
treat in the chapter on emphasis. 

For practice work, point out the Thought Centers in 
any of the following poems : Lowell's " The first Snow- 
fall" ; Whittier's "The Barefoot Boy" or "The Pump- 
kin " ; Longfellow's " The Day is Done " or selections 
in this book. 

Study first the production carefully. Be sure you 
follow a single chain of thought, so the contexts will 
harmonize. The tendency of the student will be to 
have too many Thought Sentences. After you have 
made the divisions, leave them for a few days, then 
take up the work again and see if you are satisfied to 
leave the phrasing and Thought Centers as first made. 
Note if the line of thought is logical, consistent through- 
out. A little practice in the work will soon enable the 
student to take a poem or literary production and with 
the first reading locate the Thought Centers and gather 
the thoughts rapidly and retain them accurately. The 
student will notice in his work that often poems will 



8 THE THOUGHT SENTENCE 

divide into several divisions, these divisions correspond- 
ing to what may properly be called a paragraph ; and 
in pointing out the Thought Centers in these para- 
graphs he should be careful to follow a single line of 
thought, and he will then . see that there is a close 
connection between all the Thought Centers of the 
paragraphs. 

In the present arranged curriculums of our public 
schools, normal schools, academies, colleges, and uni- 
versities, and in much of the method of teaching, there 
is little or no real training that will give help to the 
student in getting his lessons quickly, and at the same 
time accurately, so that he may retain them. A stu- 
dent can just as well be taught to get a lesson at one 
reading as in three or four. This should be the ideal 
training. Many children do this ; and yet the teacher 
says, " Study your lesson four or five times more." 
This fruitless repetition brings about a weakening of 
the mental powers. Too much stimulant is no stimu- 
lant. The child gets the whole of a story with one 
reading, hearing, or telling. You listen to a speech 
or sermon and get it all with one hearing ; that is, if 
it has been arranged and given as it should be. In 
most of our practical life we adhere to this once process. 
Why not develop this power in school ? The race be- 
longs to the swift. But if we attempt this kind of work, 
many of the old, and supposed wise teachers, because 
they were not trained in this way themselves, and can- 
not do this rapid work, shake their heads in discourage- 



THE THOUGHT SENTENCE 9 

ment because it may be contrary to the way they were 
taught, and so they say : — 

" Now consarnin' this readin', 
Provided things go to my say, 
Shan't hang on new-fangled hinges, 
But swing in the old-fashioned way. 

" We ain't no time for sech foolin', 

Besides there's no good to be reached 
By tiptoein' the children up higher 
Than ever their fathers was teached? 

— Carleton. 

This is about the amount of their argument. They 
tell us there is no permanency in this rapid work, when 
example and history prove that men and women who 
have stood at the head of affairs have had this power 
of doing work quickly. Because the students have no 
power to gather thought quickly and retain it, all of 
their school life is spent in poring over the regular 
course of the full arranged curriculum. There is no 
time for individual thinking. Many of them leave 
college with a good deal of knowledge but with little 
education. They are bookworms, and because of this 
make failures of life, and in their cases the old adage, 
" Knowledge is Power," is false. The world is demand- 
ing more of men and women every year, and to meet 
this demand better methods of study are imperative. 

This logical analysis is the basis of memory training. 
It not only broadens the acquisitional powers of the 



IO THE THOUGHT SENTENCE 

mind, but strengthens the retentive. It is the " heart 
root " of all educational advancement. Whether you 
desire to read or speak or not, it is valuable ; for it is 
the very life blood of culture. 

Phrase the following selections and mark the 
Thought Monuments as suggested in the poem, " God 
Give Us Men." 

THE VILLAGE BLACKSMITH 

Under the spreading chestnut tree 

The village smithy stands ; 

The smith a mighty man is he, 

With large and sinewy hands, 

And the muscles of his brawny arms 

Are strong as iron bands. 

His hair is crisp, and black, and long ; 

His face is like the tan ; 

His brow is wet with honest sweat, 

He earns whate'er he can, 

And looks the whole world in the face, 

For he owes not any man. 

Week in, week out, from morn till night, 

You can hear his bellows blow ; 

You can hear him swing his heavy sledge, 

With measured beat and slow, 

Like a sexton ringing the village bell, 

When the evening sun is low. 

And children coming home from school 

Look in at the open door — 



THE THOUGHT SENTENCE II 

They love to see the flaming forge 
And hear the bellows roar, 
And catch the burning sparks that fly 
Like chaff from a threshing floor. 

He goes on Sunday to the church, 

And sits amongst his boys ; 

He hears the parson pray and preach ; 

He hears his daughter's voice 

Singing in the village choir, 

And it makes his heart rejoice ; 

It sounds to him like her mother's voice 

Singing in paradise ; 

He needs must think of her once more, 

How in the grave she lies, 

And with his hard, rough hand he wipes 

A tear from out his eyes. 

Toiling, rejoicing, sorrowing, 

Onward through life he goes ; 

Each morning sees some task begun, 

Each evening sees its close ; 

Something attempted, something done, 

Has earned a night's repose. 

Thanks, thanks to thee, my worthy friend, 

For the lesson thou hast taught ; 

Thus, at the flaming forge of Life 

Our fortunes must be wrought ; 

Thus on its sounding anvil shaped 

Each burning deed, each thought. 

— H. W. Longfellow. 



12 THE THOUGHT SENTENCE 

GLORY 

The crumbling tombstones and the gorgeous mausoleum, 
the sculptured marble and the venerable cathedral, all bear 
witness to the instinctive desire within us to be remembered 
by coming generations. But how short-lived is the immortality 
which the works of our hands can confer ! The noblest monu- 
ments of art that the world has ever seen are covered with the 
soil of twenty centuries. The works of the age of Pericles 
lie at the foot of the Acropolis in indiscriminate ruin. The 
plowshare turns up the marble which the hand of Phidias had 
chiseled into beauty, and the Mussulman has folded his flock 
beneath the falling columns of the temple of Minerva. Neither 
sculptured marble nor stately column can reveal to other ages 
the lineaments of the spirit ; and these alone can embalm our 
memory in the hearts of a grateful posterity. 

As the stranger stands beneath the dome of St. Paul's or 
treads, with religious awe, the silent aisles of Westminster 
Abbey, the sentiment, which is breathed from every object 
around him, is the utter emptiness of sublunary glory. The 
fine arts, obedient to private affection or public gratitude, have 
here embodied, in every form, the finest conceptions of which 
their age was capable. Each one of these monuments has 
been watered by the tears of the widow, the orphan, or the 
patriot. 

But generations have passed away, and mourners and 
mourned have sunk together into forge tfulness. The aged 
crone, or the smooth-tongued beadle, as now he hurries you 
through the aisles and chapel, utters, with measured cadence 
and unmeaning tone, for the thousandth time, the name and 
lineage of the once-honored dead j and then gladly dismisses 



THE THOUGHT SENTENCE 1 3 

you, to repeat again his well-conned lesson to another* group 
of idle passers-by. 

Such, in its most august form, is all the immortality that 
matter can confer. It is by what we ourselves have done, 
and not by what others have done for us, that we shall be 
remembered by after ages. It is by thought that has aroused 
my intellect from its slumbers, which has "given luster to 
virtue, and dignity to truth," or by those examples which have 
inflamed my soul with the love of goodness, and not by means 
of sculptured marble, that I hold communion with Shake- 
speare and Milton, with Johnson and Burke, with Howard and 
Wilberforce. — Dr. Wayland. 

Observations on Finding the Thought Center and 
Thought Sentence 

1. Sometimes the Monument of the Thought (a Mon- 
ument marks where something may be found) is a group 
of two or more words. When it is a group of words, 
usually one word may be found that can be substituted 
for the group and have the same meaning. This one 
word will be emphatic, and since the phrase or group 
means the same as the word, the group will be emphatic. 

EXAMPLES 

Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth 
knowledge. — Bible. 

This phrase means, day uttereth speech and night 
showeth knowledge, but the expression is much weaker, 
hence the phrase is used for emphasis. 



14 THE THOUGHT SENTENCE 

He looks the whole world in the face. 

In this Thought Sentence whole world is the Monu- 
ment. It is used instead of all, meaning all persons, 
and so takes the emphasis. 

He owes not any man. 

Here not any is the Monument, and means no 

Week in, week out, from morn till night, 
You can hear his bellows blow. 

The Thought Sentence here is the two lines, and the 
Monument is the first line. It means constantly or 
continually. 

2. In reading the phrases which make up the Monu- 
ment, you read them as a single word, with the force 
and rate and volume gradually growing till the climax 
is reached on the last word, which corresponds to the 
accented syllable of a word. An accelerando and swell 
movement expresses it. 

3. In all good language, words and sentences are 
often paraphrased to emphasize the thought; that is, 
to make clear the thought. 

EXAMPLES 
Sink or swim, live or die, survive or perish. 

In this example it is all said, as far as the thought 
itself is concerned, when the speaker said sink or swim. 
Sink means to die and also perish. Swim means live 



the thought sentence 15 

and also survive. The two couplets, live or die, survive 
or perish, paraphrase the first couplet, sink or swim, 
for the purpose of impressing the thought. 

In Hamlet's Soliloquy it was all said, practically, 
when he said, " To be or not to be." Yet the poet draws 
it out till there are thirty-five lines. 



CHAPTER II 
Breathing 

Principles of Breathing and Practice Exercises 

Physiological theorists have repeatedly presented 
ideas on the principles of breathing that further inves- 
tigation has proven vagarious. The advancement of 
these opinions has, however, been productive of much 
good. I wish to present a few thoughts on the subject 
of "Why we Breathe" and "How to Breathe," which 
are the results of teaching and investigation. 

Frequently as I have lectured to assemblies and 
classes on these subjects, I have found that the listen- 
ers have all been taught similarly, and accepted the 
instruction without any personal thought or investiga- 
tion. Also, many students are very loath to accept 
anything different, especially if the thoughts have even 
a shadow of newness. These persons have always 
given at least two reasons for not wanting to change. 
First, they are afraid they would have to learn new 
work, and, second, they were afraid it might not 
" work." While I do not wish to presume that the 
reader is a person of the kind mentioned, yet if you 
have any misgivings, will you kindly put aside your 

16 



BREATHING 1 7 

antipathy to leave the well-worn path and let the 
mind contemplate for a few minutes some thoughts 
on " Why we Breathe " ? 

Why we breathe has always been a theory. Physiolo- 
gists usually say breathing is produced by the contrac- 
tion and relaxation of the intercostal muscles, together 
with contraction and relaxation of the diaphragm, and 
rest at that. This is really a result rather than a cause. 
The All-wise Creator established a first cause from 
which we have certain results. Let us look farther, 
then, for why we breathe. 

In the beginning of things the element of Life and 
the element of Death were introduced ; each at war 
with the other. " Man no sooner begins to live than 
he begins to die." Indeed, he is dying every second 
of his life. Unless the life activity, or building up of 
bodily functions, is more powerful than, or equal to, the 
dying activity, the individual is approaching the death 
point. In this tearing-down conflict which is constantly 
going on within the system, much of the worn-out matter 
is in the form of carbonic acid gas. This is a deadly 
poison to bodily life and must be thrown off. The 
blood in its circulation from the heart through the 
arteries, the capillaries, and the veins to the heart 
again, then to the lungs for purification and rejection 
of effete matter, then back to the heart again, thus con- 
tinuing on its never ceasing journey while life lasts, con- 
stitutes one of the great purifying systems of the body. 
When the blood reaches the lungs it ejects the carbonic 



1 8 BREATHING 

acid gas {carbon dioxide) into the air cells and receives 
oxygen, a life-giving element which burns the food for 
assimilation. Unless every lung cell receives oxygen 
and unloads its share of the poison, the body will not 
be completely cleansed and rejuvenated. The presence 
of the carbonic acid gas in the lungs' air cells acts upon 
the delicate, sensitive nerve ends as does a poison, dead- 
ening the vitality, destroying the resisting power, and 
thus permitting a collapse. In this way most of the 
poison is thrown from the lungs, and as the air cells 
are contracted, the lungs occupy a much smaller space ; 
and as nature " abhors a vacuum," the intercostal mus- 
cles contract and pull the ribs toward the lungs and 
down, and the diaphragm is pulled upwards, and thus 
the thorax is made smaller and the vacuum avoided. 

Because the heart continues to beat and so forces the 
blood with the new supply of oxygen and nutriment 
through the channels of circulation, and because the 
poisons have been removed from the lungs, a renewal 
of vitality takes place, at once the nerve forces and the 
air cells are forced to expand, and as an opening is 
being made, the pressure of the air from without forces 
itself through the canals of breathing into the lungs, 
and they expand, the diaphragm moves down, the inter- 
costal muscles relax, and the thorax enlarges. In this 
manner the system is cleansed. The action of the 
respiratory muscles is brought about by nerves which 
have their center in the Medulla Oblongata, or Spinal 
Bulb. 



BREA THING 



19 



SCAPULA 



There are two sets of these nerves. One carries the 
message from the lungs to the center in the spinal bulb, 
and the others bring back the command for the muscles 
to act. People who do not breathe completely suffer 
for oxygen. When the oxygen is wanted, these nerves 
make the want known, and the motor centers make an 
effort through the 
mediums of nerves 
and muscle to 
supply the much- 
needed oxygen, 
hence the respira- 
tory act. Great 
care should be ex- 
ercised so the re- 
spiratory muscle 
can act with per- 
fect freedom. 

Since this oxy- 
gen is so necessary, 
it is evident that a 
method of breath- 
ing which will give 
the fullest and most complete expansion of the chest 
and lungs must be the best for health, vigor, and power. 
Some teachers claim they can inhale as much air and not 
expand the waist muscles for the contraction and moving 
down of the diaphragm as they can if they relax them. 
This is a mistake. For the purpose of an hypothesis, 




Cut 1. 



Note how firmly the upper part 0/ the chest is built. 
and how flexible the lower. 



20 BREA THING 

grant they can. An examination of the thorax shows 
the greatest flexibility as well as the greatest capacity of 
the lungs (see Cuts i and i a) at the bottom. Then it 
must follow they overdevelop the chest and lungs in the 
region of the heart, and also they compress the air in 
the lungs in the region of the heart. The lungs being 




Note how small the upper part of the lungs are and how large the lower. 
Evidently where will they expand most ? 

thus solidly filled around this vital organ, the heart beats 
are very much interrupted and weakened. Because of 
the lack of room to exercise the propelling power of the 
heart, the blood does not reach thoroughly the extremi- 
ties of the body. Then, too, because the bottom of the 
thorax has been kept in a contracted condition, the lower 
parts of the lungs were not filled with fresh air, and were 



BREATHING 21 

not cleansed of the poisonous elements, and, as a result, 
the health of the speaker or singer is broken, and the 
throat becomes affected, and the voice does not have its 
purity. This incorrect work is made manifest by weari- 
ness of the throat muscles, and by hoarseness and sore 
throat, and the breaking of the voice during vocalization. 

As has been observed above, a healthy body depends 
very largely on correct and complete breathing. In 
order that a person shall form this habit correctly, let 
us now study " How to Breathe." 

Many persons will say at once, " I know how to 
breathe." Good ! I am glad you do ; very many per- 
sons do not. One person says, " I always fill the lungs 
well at the bottom, using vigorously the diaphragmatic 
and abdominal muscles"; another says, "I give most 
attention to the intercostal muscles, and pay no atten- 
tion to the diaphragm " ; still another says it is unneces- 
sary to give so much attention to the diaphragmatic 
and the intercostal muscles, for it is better to use the 
clavicle and scapular muscles instead, and develop fully 
the upper chest. Then still another says, " I always 
breathe through the nose and never take any breath 
through the mouth, as I want to avoid catarrh." 

Let us look at these separate methods and practices. 
I believe there is some virtue in all these, but the prac- 
tice of any one to the exclusion of the others will not 
give the best symmetrical results. The person who uses 
exclusively the diaphragmatic and abdominal breathing 
is likely to develop a form about as shown in Cut 2. 



22 



BREA THING 



Besides, there is danger of the upper chest being sunken 
and the upper lobes of the lungs growing weak. 

In the person who uses the intercostal muscles prin- 
cipally, there will be a tendency to develop a chest form 
as shown in Cut 3. Then, too, there is danger of the 



ft 



Cut 2. 



Cut 3. 



Cut 4. 



chest contracting at the top and the bottom, which 
would result in lung weakness because of non-usage, 
and hence a tendency to symptoms of consumption. 

The individual who uses that pernicious method of 
breathing known as the "Clavicle and Scapular Method" 
will develop a form similar to the one shown in Cut 4. 



BREA THING 



23 



But the greatest wrongs will be the contraction of the 
lower chest, the lack of usage of the lower and middle 
lobes of the lungs, an insufficient amount of oxygen in 
the system, affected heart action, complicated if not 
fatal lung disease, poor digestion, poor circu- 
lation, shortness of breath, headaches, and in 
time a general breaking of health. Avoid 
this method as you would a poison. 

The student will find that a proper com- 
bination of all these methods will prove the 
best, and will develop a form and chest as 
shown in Cut 5 ; and will also prove the best 
for tone, voice protection, and endurance. 

In ordinary or normal breathing, and 
under ordinary circumstances, always breathe 
through the nose. But there are times when 
it is necessary to catch the breath through 
the mouth, in order to protect the health, 
and sometimes as an exercise to raise the 
soft palate and depress the tongue so as to 
open the throat. But it should not be a 
constant practice. As was said above, the hygienic 
reason given for always breathing through the nose 
is to prevent catarrh. Notwithstanding this general 
precaution, about nine-tenths of the American people 
have more or less trouble with the malady. The 
precaution seems to fail in results. All or nearly all 
nasal catarrh is brought on by the sufferer having 
always insisted on breathing through the nose. Hence, 



Cur 



24 BREA THING 

when a person is out in " zero weather," the membranes 
of the nose are sometimes frozen, and catarrh is the 
result. When once contracted because the individual 
continues to inhale through the nose, he forces the dis- 
ease through the nasal passages to the throat and lungs, 
and thus the throat becomes diseased and the voice 
affected. If the following method of inhaling is ad- 
hered to under such conditions, the breather will have 
no trouble with catarrh. Separate the lips and teeth 
slightly, place the tongue against the roof of the mouth 
back of the teeth, spreading it well across the front part 
of the mouth. Now take in a major part of the air 
through the mouth, thus causing it to circulate around 
the tongue to arrest any particles of dust in the atmos- 
phere, and to warm the air before it reaches the throat 
and lungs. 

If you will keep the throat in a healthy condition, all 
disease germs in the atmosphere will be destroyed by 
the secretions from the different glands in the mouth 
and throat, so you need have no fears from this source. 
Scores of cases of throat trouble have been cured by 
observing these precautions. The method has been 
approved as rational by leading physicians. 

In order to have volume of voice, the throat must be 
well open, and it is necessary to lift well the veil of the 
soft palate, and to lower the root of the tongue. Per- 
sons who always breathe through the nose cause a re- 
laxing of the soft palate muscles and cause it to droop 
and so form a barrier between the pharynx and mouth, 



BREATHING 2$ 

thus preventing the free escape of tone. To overcome 
this difficulty the student should practice catching the 
breath through the mouth a few minutes daily for a 
while, to force the root of the tongue down and lift the 
veil of the palate, thus opening the throat as shown in 





/ 

Note how small the opening for tone. Note how large the passage for tone. 

Cut 6. 

B, Cut 6. Observe, I said practice, which does not mean 
that this manner of breathing should be habitual. This 
manner of breathing together with the exercise to de- 
velop the voice, as directed in Chapter III, will prevent 
and cure sore throat. 

Breathing- Practice 



Note. — All the following exercises should be practiced daily. 

Exercise I 

First Part 

Stand with the right foot in advance (or left foot) as shown 
in Cut 7, with weight of body on the forward foot, shoulders 
well thrown back, and head erect. Place the hands on the 
hips, fingers forward, arms akimbo to support the weight 



26 



BREA THING 



of the shoulders, to allow the ribs directly under the shoulders 
to be lifted so as to fill well the upper lobes of the lungs. 
This position in the beginning is of pri?nary importance ; do 
?wt neglect it. Now take the breath in 
slowly and continuously through the nose 
for eight seconds. As soon as you begin 
to inhale, cause the muscles at the waist 
to expand, which will allow the edges of 
the diaphragm to move outward and the 
peak to descend, which will enlarge the 
lower part of the thorax and give room 
for the lower lobes of the lungs to expand. 
Now as the lungs gradually fill to the 
top, cause the intercostal muscles that 
lift the ribs to contract, thus pulling the 
ribs outward and up and the sternum 
out and up as if hinged at the top. These 
actions of the muscles and ribs will en- 
large the thorax and permit an easy and 
complete expansion of all the lungs, which, 
as we noted above, is absolutely necessary 
for good voice and health, because it permits every air cell 
to do its work perfectly. Corsets or belts must not be worn 
if you wish to do perfect work. 




Cut 7. 

Correct standing position 
while speaking. 



Second Part 



Exhale the air through the nose, emptying the lungs at the 
top first (this is natural and logical), by allowing the intercostal 
muscles that contracted to expand and the set that expanded 
when you inhaled to contract, thus pulling the ribs and sternum 



BREA THING 



27 



down and in, and lastly the diaphragm to relax and rise and the 
waist muscles to contract and move in. These combined move- 
ments will help to empty the lungs quite completely. 

These logical movements of the muscles must be practiced 
for weeks so the habit of breathing in this way may be formed. 
Practice the above round of exercise five times before you pass 
to Exercise II, unless you get dizzy, which will be a symptom 
that you are a bad breather and that you are doing good prac- 
tice work. 

Exercise II 

Inhale the air as directed in the first part of Exercise I, and 
before passing to the second part of the exercise hold the 
breath for eight seconds. Then round and project the lips as 




in Cut 8 and exhale the breath continuously and with even 
rapidity for eight seconds. Repeat this exercise at least five 
times before passing to Exercise III. 



28 BREATHING 

Exercise III 

Open the mouth wide as possible as suggested by B, Cut 6. 
Then, with one quick inhalation, force the lungs to expand very 
quickly, as directed in the first part of Exercise I, giving special 
attention to expanding the muscles at the waist. The object 
of catching the breath through the mouth is to force the root 
of the tongue down and the veil of the soft palate up so as to 
open the throat as shown in Cut 6, which must be the condi- 
tion of the throat for volume of tone. Volume means capacity 
and capacity means the open throat. 

Having filled the chest quickly as possible, hold it filled for 
eight seconds, then round the lips as shown in Cut 8, and let 
the air pass out evenly and smoothly through the mouth, keep- 
ing the waist firmly outward. Practice five times. 

Caution. — Before practicing Exercise III, see that the 
temperature of the room is not lower than sixty-five degrees. 

Remark. — Exercise III is most valuable. It gives health 
to the lungs and chest muscles and muscles of the pharynx, 
because the quick expansion and contraction of the thoracic 
muscles is an inward physical culture exercise. The holding 
of the waist muscles firmly outward brings them under the con- 
trol of the will, and this will help to protect the vocal cords 
from overwork during tone production. As the opening be- 
tween the vocal cords when vocalizing varies from three tenths 
to the one one-hundredth part of an inch, it is necessary to 
hold the breath back that the vocal cords may not be strained. 
Nearly all throat troubles in speaking are brought on by the 
improper use of the breath during vocalization. Practice this 
"catch breath" exercise for months, and thus help prevent 
and cure sore throat. 



BREA THING 29 

Exercise IV 

.Inhale the breath as in Exercise I. Retain the breath for 
about eight seconds and during this time tap the chest all over 
with the hands, being sure not to omit the top nor the bottom. 
Then let the breath pass out all at once. Repeat this exercise 
at least five times, and keep up the daily practice for months. 

Exercise V 

Open the mouth as directed in Exercise III, fill the lungs 
with the quick gasp. Hold this breath from ten to twenty 
seconds, then round the lips as shown by Cut 8, and let it pass 
out slowly, smoothly, and continuously for about fifteen seconds ; 
now keep the lungs empty for ten seconds, and then fill the 
lungs with one quick gasp as directed at the beginning of this 
exercise. Now breathe naturally for a few moments, then prac- 
tice the exercise again. Repeat the exercise a number of 
times. 

Exercise VI 

Inhale slowly and evenly for ten continuous seconds ; hold 
the muscles of the thorax firmly for ten seconds, then round 
the lips as shown by Cut 8, and let the breath pass out evenly 
and continuously for ten seconds. This is to train for the econ- 
omy of breath, which must be mastered by the complete con- 
trol of the muscles of the thorax. When expelling the breath, 
do not let the waist muscles relax ; keep them pressing firmly 
outward. This is very important when vocalizing. If the dia- 
phragm is in a relaxed condition, the tone will not carry, and 
besides, will have a muffled, deadish quality and will lack force. 
This is because in proper tone production the diaphragm must 



30 BREATHING 

vibrate with the vocal cords, and if permitted to be in a relaxed 
condition, there will be no clear vibration of this muscle. 
When speaking, breath should be taken often. Never relax 
the waist muscles while speaking or singing ; if you do, the tones 
will not be good. Breath should be taken often when using 
the voice. Watch the little child. 

Exercise VII 

When you have gained control of the muscles so that you 
can make the round of ten easily, — that is, take in the breath 
for ten seconds, hold it for ten, and then let it pass out for ten, — • 
then increase the round to twelve seconds, then thirteen, then 
fourteen, on up till you can make the round of twenty easily. 

A perfect mastery of breath control will help to cure 
and prevent hoarseness, or huskiness, or sore throat. 
These breathing exercises are most important. The 
object is to remove any overstrain or exercise of the 
vocal cords by requiring them to help keep back the 
breath when producing tone. Their business is to vi- 
brate, not to help retain the breath in the lungs. In 
shouting, the natural force exerted on the vocal cords by 
the column of air thrown against them to make the strong 
vibration of shouting is considerable. It is about equal 
to the pressure of a column of water thirty inches high, 
or about one and one fourth pounds. Control the col- 
umn of air for tone by the thoracic muscles, and as 
directed in above exercises, not by the vocal bands. 



CHAPTER III 
Voice Culture 

Voice Culture for the speaker is of as much im- 
portance for effective work as is Voice Culture for the 
singer, and from the utilitarian point of view it is 
twenty times more valuable. Bishop Simpson well 
says the demands for speech and music are twenty 
to one in favor of the former. Without a good voice 
the effectiveness of the spoken word is largely lost. 
Without vocal force, the speaker cannot be heard ; 
without good enunciation, he cannot be understood ; 
without proper tone production, he will not have endur- 
ance. A weakness in any one of this trinity will seriously 
affect the speaker's usefulness. In order that the stu- 
dent may have the advantage of proper tone production 
throughout his course, the chapter on Voice Culture is 
placed third in the book. 

A good voice must have Depth, Volume, Clearness, 
Resonance, Sympathy, Roundness, Melody, Modulation, 
and Durability. These give the vocal powers of speech. 

Depth of voice will obviate the severe muscular con- 
traction which occurs when the voice has a high pitch. 
The more intense the muscular contraction, the quicker 
do the motor areas of the brain become fatigued, which 

31 



32 VOICE CULTURE 

affects the activity of the thinking powers. Usually 
extempore speakers who have high-pitched voices do 
not think as profoundly nor as connectedly after they 
have talked a short time. ' Because of the close sym- 
pathy of the organs of expression with the faculties of 
thinking, both are affected by the expenditure of con- 
traction energy. 

I have observed that adult students who have habitu- 
ally high-pitched voices do not recall committed lines 
as readily nor as accurately as do students with lower 
voices, and who speak without so much physical exer- 
tion. And, also, these same students become more 
accurate in the lines as the voice is cultivated to a lower 
pitch. These persons who have the high voices may 
think just as profoundly when sitting at the desk and 
writing, but they fatigue more readily, and so think less 
accurately when in vocal activity. 

Then, too, when the tension of the vocal muscles is 
not so great, the amplitude of the vibration will be 
greater, and so the carrying power of the voice will be 
augmented. It must be borne in mind, however, that if 
the relaxation of the muscles should be so great as to 
destroy a moderate tension of the vocal bands, there 
would be no carrying qualities to the voice. A pitch of 
voice hovering about middle C of the musical scale will 
prove on the average the best. These conditions are 
best not only from scientific reasons, but also because 
they are proven to be the best conditions from practical 
observations. Also, if the contraction of the vocal mus- 



VOICE CULTURE 



33 



cles is only moderate, there is less likelihood of injuring 
them when indulging in enthusiastic speaking or when 
shouting. The use of the voice on a moderately low 
pitch is an important safeguard. To acquire depth of 
voice strive for the open throat as shown in Cut 6. 



SOPRANO 




CONTRALTO 



Cut 9. 



Cut 9 will show the natural pitch of cultivated voices 
of the different qualities. 

The voice should have volume, as this will inspire 
your listeners with confidence. A voice without volume 
sounds " lost " in an audience room of even moderate 
seating capacity. Volume gives the quality of earnest- 
ness and sincerity to speech and is one of the elements 
of magnetism. Language which is intended to convey 
profound, sublime, dignified thought will lack effective- 
ness when expressed without volume, and volume ac- 
companies low pitch. 

Clearness is important, as it enables the speaker to be 
heard. A muffled or flabby tone will not carry ; and it 
has, besides, a debilitating effect upon the audience. 



34 VOICE CULTURE 

Clearness is acquired by holding the abdominal muscles 
firm, the waist muscles pushing outward, and the dia- 
phragm firm and drawn downward, and the whole body 
firm. There must be no relaxed muscles. Let them be 
firm, but not stiff nor rigid nor inflexible. 

Resonance should not be neglected, because it gives 
the element of sympathy. A resonant voice will have 
clear, strong vibrations, and when the speaker is in tune 
with his auditorium, the materials about the room will 
be made to vibrate and so help the influence of the 
speaker's voice. Every room has a pitch of tone, and to 
speak easily and well the speaker must have his voice 
in harmony with the tone qualities of the room or there 
will be discord. This harmony between voice and room 
will reenforce the speaker's vocal power, and he will 
be able to reach many more people and in a pleasing 
manner. 

There must be Sympathy in the voice. If the voice 
is not trained to fall into harmony with the thought 
being expressed, there will be a coldness and a mechan- 
ical quality about the delivery effort which will have an 
adverse influence on the audience. A voice devoid of 
feeling or sympathy is very dispiriting to an audi- 
ence. 

Roundness in the voice not only makes it carry well, 
but will help to bring out the good qualities, such as 
force and completeness and full cadence and volume. 
To get this quality the lips must be projected and 
rounded and the throat open and round, so as to make 



VOICE CULTURE 35 

the tone passage tubelike, as shown by Cut 8. The 
circle is the largest boundary. 

Melody deals with the perfect utterance of the single 
tones. This gives the mellow, musical quality to the 
voice which keeps the tone pitches from being harsh 
and discordant. The rhythmic succession of the single 
tones gives a charm and magnetism to the voice. 

Modulation is the element of flexibility which prevents 
the voice from becoming monotonous. Without modu- 
lation the voice tires not only the speaker, but the audi- 
ence. Modulation has to do with the adjustment of the 
pitches of the Thought Sentence as a whole. To modu- 
late well, the voice must be trained to pass from one 
pitch to another with perfect ease. 

" 'Tis not enough the voice be round and clear ; 
'Tis Modulation that must charm the ear. 
When desperate heroes grieve, with tedious moan, 
And whine their sorrows in a seesaw tone, 
The same soft sounds of unimpassioned woes 
Can only make the yawning hearers doze." 

Durability is the result when all the elements enumer- 
ated are developed. There is no reason why a voice 
should wear out or the speaker or singer have sore 
throat or be hoarse. A voice should not be fatigued 
with six hours', or even more, use daily. Many singers 
and speakers begin to complain of the voice giving out 
when they have used it only thirty or forty minutes. 
They indirectly insinuate that the Lord made a mistake 



36 VOICE CULTURE 

in his plan for the vocal machinery. The Lord is all 
right ; it is the vocalist that is wrong. He does not 
know how to manipulate the machine. 

The student's first efforts in expression should be to 
acquire a well-trained voice. While nature may do much 
for the student in what is called " natural ability," yet 
this is too crude ; only careful education will make his 
natural powers most effective. To whom much is given, 
of him much more is required. Beware of flattering 
friends ; their advice may be your worst foe to progress. 
Work! 

In vocalization the knowledge and practice of correct 
bodily position are very important, and should be given 
careful study and attention. Correct and easy positions 
of the body have much to do with correct, pleasing, and 
forceful speech and graceful, magnetic gesture. Many 
a speaker has spoiled the influence of a good speech by 
a careless, awkward, and listless bodily attitude. The 
speaker should never forget he is a living picture before 
the audience, and his success will depend very much on 
whether or not the picture is artistic in appearance and 
attractive to the audience. The speaking body must 
have an energetic attitude in all its parts, and not be 
devitalized. I am aware that some teachers and writers 
hold to the opposite view ; but the instruction as here 
given conforms to the principles of science, and is in 
accord with the method used by the most influential 
speakers. The qualities of a good voice require this 
energy of the body. Let us first consider then the 



VOICE CULTURE 37 

STANDING POSITION OF THE SPEAKER 

The standing position is determined largely by the 
feet positions, so we give attention to them first. The 
right-angle or vital or strong position is the basis from 
which to work. To take this position, place either foot 





Cut io. 

Right front. Left front. 



in advance of the other, from six to eight inches, so 
the straight line passing through the front foot length- 
wise and the line passing through the back foot length- 
wise shall intersect under the ankle of the back foot, 
as shown in Cut io. This is a correct position for 
standing wherever a person may be, and all other posi- 
tions are but variations of this right-angular or strong 
position. In character sketching the feet are placed in 
various positions from this right-angular position. 

Now put the weight of the body on the front foot so 
that the position of the body shall be forward, that the 
waist muscles and the point of the nose shall be on a 
straight line with a perpendicular whose base shall be 
at the juncture of the great toe with the foot. See 
Cut 7. Keep the shoulders thrown comfortably back 
and the head upward. 



38 



VOICE CULTURE 



There are five reasons for taking this position when 
vocalizing and before an audience. First, the weight on 
the front foot, as directed above, and the waist muscles 
outward, give a firmness to the muscles of the dia- 
phragm which, with some persons, will double the carry- 
ing power of the voice. The shoulders back will allow 
an easy expansion of the lungs, because the sternum at 
the lower point will be thrown out from the spinal column 
and this will allow the lungs to fill easily, beginning at 
the bottom. The head thrown back so as to elevate the 
chin will give the proper angle to the throat, which is 




Cut ii. 



LINE OF PURE 
VOCAUTY 



the obtuse angle, as shown by position C y Cut n, and 
allows the full expansion of the pharynx, which will give 
a full, rich voice. See Cut u. 

The vocalist should never allow anything to press 
against the throat so as to prevent easy expansion of 
the pharynx. It not only destroys the quality of the 
voice by preventing its projection forward, but also is 
likely to cause throat trouble in time. The fourth reason 



VOICE CULTURE 



39 



for so standing is because it is a magnetic position. Un- 
less the speaker shows to the audience that he is pleased 
with them, the audience is not likely to show any interest 
in him. When anything pleases us we instinctively in- 
cline that way, and we are impelled to move toward it ; 
and we do the same in our attitude toward persons. If 
we do not like the object, "We recede from it; if we do not 
like a person, we move away from him — we avoid him. 
So to lean toward an object or person is a magnetic 
position and will help to please, and to move away is 
non-magnetic. The fifth reason for standing with the 
weight on the forward foot is that 
it gives a more commanding pres- 
ence. The rays of light reflected 
from the body of the speaker to 
the eye of the auditor will form 
a right-angle with the body, and 
the speaker will look tall. This 
is an advantage, and especially 
when the speaker is only of aver- 
age or below the average height. 

In all vocalization, and especially 
in very strong tone production, 
keep the muscles at the waist line 
pressing outward. This will obvi- 
ate forcing the breath against the 
vocal cords, and prevent hoarse- 
ness and sore throat. The natural 
force exerted on the vocal cords cut ua. 




S ftlGHT ANGULAR 
POSITION 



40 VOICE CULTURE 

in strong tone production is about one and one fourth 
pounds to the square inch. If the breath is not kept 1 
back by the firmness of the diaphragm, this force will 
be increased and throat affection follow. Purer, easier, 
and stronger tones will be the result when the breath 
is expelled by the force of the intercostal muscles, than 
when expelled by the diaphragm. 

Having taken the position above described, and hav- 
ing practiced vigorously for two or three minutes the 
breathing exercises as directed in the chapter on Breath- 
ing, we are now ready to begin the 

Vocal Work 



Exercise I 
Produce the sound of long a as directed in the study of 
Articulation. Make the pitch medium or about middle C. 
Direct the tone current so as to strike the roof of the mouth 
on the ridge back of the teeth. Produce the sound three times 
with each breath ; and each time you strike the tone let the 
waist muscles press firmly outward. This will keep the tone 
from irritating the throat. After the tone has been produced 
a number of times on this pitch change to a pitch a little higher, 
and produce the tone several times. Then go to a higher pitch 
still, and practice as before. So continue to raise the pitch 
until your highest tone has been reached. Next begin to lower 
the pitch little by little, practicing on each successive pitch till 
the lowest tone has been reached. This will train the voice 
in flexibility. As you ascend in the pitch, tense the muscles 
of the body slightly with each change of pitch. And when 
you descend, relax the muscles very slightly. When you have 



VOICE CULTURE 



41 



raised or lowered the pitch to what seems your limit of either 
extreme, make the effort to reach just a little farther. This 
effort will in time increase your range of flexibility. Practice 
the above exercise, as well as those that follow, with energy and 
care, keeping your mind fixed on what you desire to accomplish. 
Active, persistent thought is necessary to success ; there can be 
but little accomplished without thought. Whatever success you 
attain will be accomplished by active, energetic thinking. Keep 
the mind active in all your work. Keep your jaw motionless. 
As the person thinks, so he will grow. 



Exercise II 

Take the sound represented by the letter o ; project and 
round the lips well, as shown in Cut 8. Now produce 
the tone, observing the same bodily conditions and changes 
of pitch of tone and tension of muscles. Do not drag the 
tones and blur them together. 
Make each separate, and clear, 
and full, and vibrant, being 
careful to expand the pharynx 
and press the waist muscles 
outward. Do not move the 
jaw. Put the hand to the 
throat to learn if the pharynx 
expands when the tone is 
made strong. 

Exercise III 

Take the syllable la, macron 
a, draw the lips firmly back 




42 



VOICE CULTURE 



against the teeth, without increasing the natural distance be- 
tween the corners of the mouth, and expose the upper and 
the lower teeth about one half, as shown in Cut 12, separating 
them slightly. With the waist muscles pressing firmly out- 
ward produce the tone as in the former exercises, holding the 
jaw motionless, moving only the tongue to make the L element. 




LINE 0FCONTAC1 

OF LONG VOCALS/ VOCAL 

CORD5" 

Cut 13. 



Think of the tone current striking the roof of the mouth on 
the ridges just back of the teeth. This is the focal point. If 
you wish to develop intense penetration, let the tone current 
strike the teeth. Cut 13 shows the sounding point of the 
macron vocals and long sound of a. What the sounding-board 
of a piano is to the tone of the piano, so is the hard palate to 
the tone of the voice. Tone currents striking the hard palate 
have the best resonance. 



VOICE CULTURE 



43 



Exercise IV 

Take syllable Id, macron o, round the lips, and project 
them well, as shown in 
Cut 8. Hold the body 
firmly, waist muscles 
firmly outward ; produce 
a strong, clear, and vi- 
brant tone, being careful 
not to move the jaw, 
only the tongue for the 
Z element. Let the 
pitch of tone be changed 
upward as well as down- 




s -««*-^7'LOCATiON OF 
^j^X VOCAL C0RD5 



INSIDE VIEW OP 
LARYNX 



ward. 



Put the fingers to 



CU'l 13 a. 



the throat and see that it expands with each stroke and relaxes 
between the stress efforts. 

Exercise V 

Take the syllable ?id, macron 0, and produce it as directed 
for Id in Exercise IV. Keep the waist muscles firm. 



Exercise VI 

Take the long sound of a (that is, diaeresis a), separate the 
teeth as far as possible, and the lips so as to expose about one 
half the upper and the lower teeth, Cut 14. Draw the throat 
muscles down as much as possible and raise the soft palate so 
as to expand the pharynx wide. With the mouth and pharynx 
well expanded as shown in Cut 6, keep the body in the 
same attitude and condition as for the former exercises, and 



44 



VOICE CULTURE 



produce the sound of diaeresis a full, round, clear, and vibrant. 

Ascend and descend in pitch as before. Catch the breath 

through the mouth for this 
vocal exercise, so as to lift the 
soft palate and depress the root 
of the tongue. It will be well 
to use a hand mirror with all 
these exercises, to see if you 
keep the correct positions of 
mouth and throat while pro- 
ducing the different tones. 

Exercise VII 

Speak the word now, open- 
ing the pharynx and mouth as 
wide as possible, continuing 
the tone as you separate the 
teeth. Produce this tone on as many different pitches as 
possible. Keep the body and waist muscles in the same con- 
dition as for the former exercises. 




Cur 



Exercise VIII 

Speak the syllable le, macron e, making it ring from the 
teeth, observing the same bodily conditions as before. Teeth 
and lips should be separated as shown in Cut 12. 



Exercise IX 

Combine all the consonants with the macron sounds of the 
vocals. Practice each combination a number of times before 
passing to the next. Be sure to keep the muscles of the torso, 



VOICE CULTURE 45 

throat, jaw, and lips firm. Do not permit yourself to practice 

in a listless way at any time. Show vigor and earnestness in 

your work. 

Exercise X 

Take the following sentences and practice each on as many 
different pitches as possible. Always be careful that the lips 
take the proper position for the different vocals as they occur 
in the words. Assert your will power in your practice. Listen 
carefully to your own voice. Make all tones clear and distinct, 
and articulate all consonants with the utmost care. 

{a) " All are scattered now and fled." — Longfellow, 

(b) " Now o'er the one-half world." — Shakespeare, 

(e) " Oh, what is so rare as a day in June ! " — Lowell. 

(d) " Now I am alone." 

(e) " Over the river they beckon to me." — Priest. 
(/) " E'en so, my lord." — Shakespeare. 

(g) " Speak the speech as I pronounced it to you." — Ibid. 

These exercises and others that are similar must be practiced 
for months in order to develop the open, flexible throat. If you 
do not have this throat condition, your tones will be harsh and 
pinched and rough, and abrupt in their beginnings and clos- 
ings ; and the throat will be pinched together at times and the 
tones will be forced and strained, and disagreeable to the 
listener; the speaker will suffer in time with huskiness and 
hoarseness and sore throat, and a weariness of the throat 
muscles with which the whole body will sympathize. 

In order to vary your exercise work, select other sentences 
for practice, some in which the Open Tones predominate, and 
others where there are a majority of Close Tones. To develop 
heavy Tragic Tones practice the following work. 



46 VOICE CULTURE 

Stand as if lifting a very heavy weight, feet at angle as shown 
in Cut 10. Clench both hands very tightly. Tense every muscle 
of the body as if lifting all you possibly can. Set and hold the 
jaw very firm. Hold the muscles of the throat rigid and in- 
flexible. Hold the waist muscles exceedingly firm and pushing 
outward. Round the lips as shown in Cut 8, then shout o as 
heard in no. Let the tone be made at the root of the tongue, 
and speak the sound as if very angry, — short and quick. Do 
not let the muscles relax while producing the tone, for it will make 
you cough. You will not be able to produce this tone very 
often when you first begin this practice, as you will not be able 
to hold the tension of the muscles. It may be weeks before 
you can produce this tone well. This will give the quality 
called the Guttural Rattle Tone. 

Exercise XI 

After a few days of practice take the syllable no. Observe 
the same bodily conditions as for former exercise. Make the 
sound of n very strong, and severe, like the angry growl, and 
follow it with o, quick, short, abrupt. 

Exercise XII 
Select any syllables you may wish and practice as before. 

Exercise XIII 

Practice on the following sentences, giving careful attention 
to the bodily conditions. Practice each slowly till you can 
carry it through without the voice breaking, increasing the 
force and exploding it on the last word. 



VOICE CULTURE 47 

0) "I say no." 

(b) " Oh, this is too much ! " 

(V) " You cowardly cur ! " 

(d) " Ay, an itching palm, you know you are Brutus that says 
this, or by the gods this speech were else your last." 

— Shakespeare. 

(e) " Traitor, who says this, who'll prove it at his peril on my 
head ?" — Rev. George Croly. 

Exercise XIV 

Practice on such selections as "Catiline's Defiance," "The 
Seminole's Reply," " Regulus to the Carthaginians," and " The 
Curse of Regulus." 

Do not practice this work carelessly. Assert your volitional 
powers and put forth strong physical effort. Do not become 
discouraged if you are not able to get this quality in a few 
days ; it may take months of daily practice. 

Exercise XV 

To develop a soft, low, intoning quality, use the following 
exercises. Be very careful to make the tone clear and even 
and soft. Also hold the muscles of the waist and throat firm, 
and try to make the tone strong, but not loud. After practicing 
with these muscular conditions, then relax the muscles some- 
what and prolong the tones, making them even and soft. 

(a) " Oh, thou eternal one ! " 

(b) " Now I am alone." 

(e) " All are scattered now and fled." 



48 VOICE CULTURE 

(d) " Over the river they beckon to me, 

Loved ones who have crossed to the farther side." 

— Mrs. Priest. 
(<?) " And lo, from the assembled crowd, 

There rose a sound prolonged and loud." 
(/) " O sailor boy, woe to thy dream of delight ! 

In darkness dissolves the great frost work of bliss ; 
Where now is the picture that fancy doth paint 
Thy parents' fond pleasure and love's hurried kiss ? " 

— Dimond. 
(g) " The heavens declare the glory of God ; and the firma- 
ment showeth his handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech, 
and night unto night showeth knowledge. There is no speech 
nor language where their voice is not heard." 

— Psahn xix. r, 2, 3. 
(]i) " They rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, 
Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come." 

— Revelation iv. 8. 
(z) "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He 
maketh me to lie down in green pastures : he leadeth me 
beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul : he leadeth me 
in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though 
I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no 
evil : for thou art with me ; thy rod and thy staff they comfort 
me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine 
enemies : thou anointest my head with oil ; my cup runneth 
over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days 
of my life ; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever." 

— Psahn xxiii. 



CHAPTER IV 
Pauses 

There are three great and valuable arts founded upon 
science, which have much to do with success in any call- 
ing of life, namely, Writing, Reading, and Speaking. 
The first of this trio, Writing, may be developed with- 
out the other two, but it lacks vitality. Reading and 
Speaking go hand in hand, carrying the little lifeblood 
of Writing in their hearts ; and you cannot easily sepa- 
rate Reading and Speaking without destroying some- 
what the vitality of each. If persons read badly, they 
speak badly ; and if they speak badly, they read in like 
manner. This is a rule with very few exceptions. 

Look among your friends to verify this. How many 
of them can read a page without halting, and how many 
of them can talk for two consecutive minutes on any 
commonplace subject without stammering ? To what 
can this be attributed but to the lack of expressional 
training in the schools ? 

Students are required to spend years in music, paint- 
ing, and drawing, which is right, although they are not 
used directly on an average of more than once a week ; 
while reading and speaking are both shoved aside, not- 
withstanding the fact that the demand of the age makes 
them of daily use. This neglect may be accounted for, 

49 



5<3 PAUSES 

since teachers receive little or no instruction in these 
two great fields of education, and so they are at a loss 
how to begin. Richard Grant White says : " Reading 
aloud is no longer taught in schools, or it is taught in 
very few. This is much to be regretted. Better let two 
'branches' go than Elocution." 

The writer once had the privilege and pleasure of 
attending an Association of County School Examiners, 
and the question came up for discussion, " In what 
should an examination of reading consist before a 
County Board of Examiners ? " Some thought it should 
consist in finding if the applicant was making an effort 
to read "all" the works of literature; another, if he 
knew what he was reading and could tell it ; another, if 
he knew what to read ; and a learned " doctor " thought 
the energy of the teacher should be spent in developing 
a stomach to devour literature, — " Make the student 
hungry for it." Well, Amen to all these, but do not 
stop here. In the discussion, the examination of the 
applicant in the "elements" which make good readers 
was lost sight of. They did not seem to understand 
that if a student is drilled in the principles which make a 
reader and speaker \ all the others zvill be added. If you 
want to develop an inquiring mind, dig for the elements, 
for without this training in the elements of reading there 
will be, in most cases, a lack of depth ; and to develop the 
stomach to devour without digesting brings on a morbid 
growth and indigestion, and a bookworm is the result. 

In the course of the discussion alluded to the writer 



PA USES 5 1 

was asked for his opinion. He presented the thought 
that the examination should include the work of expres- 
sion somewhat, as well. They jumped upon this idea 
like a cat at a young porcupine, and branded it elocu- 
tion. Some thought that to teach this in the public 
school was wrong, and that elocution in any form should 
be kept from the schoolroom, — as if you could teach 
good reading without teaching a little elocution. You 
cannot divorce reading from elocution any more than 
you can divorce rhetoric from English or grammar from 
English. Elocution is a study of English and embraces 
the whole field of literature. There is a difference be- 
tween elocution and the "monkey and parrot" business 
the examiners had in mind. One declared the boys and 
girls should not be trained in expression, as it would 
make " professionals " of them. Then we think they 
should not be trained in mathematics, or psychology, or 
natural science, or language, as it migJit make " pro- 
fessionals" of them. 

Now, do not cast this chapter on pauses aside as 
unworthy a place in the teacher's or student's work 
until you understand what real elocution is, and all 
other articles that pertain to the development of good, 
deep, comprehensive, intelligent reading. 

Pauses (Latin pansa, halt) in reading or speaking are 
very important. They are of two kinds, — Thought 
Pauses, or pauses for the meaning, and Pauses for 
Emphasis, or Effect. The former must always be 
observed, while the latter are somewhat optional with 



52 PAUSES 

the reader or speaker. Pauses for the meaning occur 
between the Thought Sentences. There will be no definite 
expression of thought unless there is accuracy in the 
observation of Thought Pauses. This systematic work 
is closely connected with the development of the Thought 
Sentence. There should always be a pause after each 
Thought Sentence. This should never be overlooked, 
as it gives the audience time to digest, as it were, the 
thought intention of the reader or speaker. 

This renders pauses, then, of a psychic nature rather 
than of a mechanical character. They have their origin 
in the mind, and must be governed by general prin- 
ciples, rather than by mechanical rules. 

The subject must be studied from the standpoint of 
mental action, inasmuch as the object of the speaker is 
to impress his thought upon the minds of his audience. 
We hope to put the work upon a basis of principles, 
rather than of mechanical rules. 

Separate the following into thought sentences, and 
then practice reading it, observing the Thought Pause, 
that is, the pause between the Thought Sentences. 

Exercise for Practice 

WHAT ORATORY HAS DONE 

Elocution is the theory or the investigation of the several 
subdivisions of the Speech Arts, as voice development, voice 
building, composition, phrasing, emphasis, modulation, melody, 
enunciation, articulation, climax, cadence, rate, force, stress; 
in a word, the theory of speech culture. 



pauses 53 

Expression is the power, either natural or acquired, which 
one possesses to do the work embodied in these several sub- 
divisions. 

Oratory is the grand consummation, or bringing into use of 
all the several parts and peculiarities of each division as required 
to express forcibly the thought, so as to represent a finished 
whole. The acme of this achievement represents a life work, 
and the representative is said to be talented ; but talent is, in a 
measure, the product of unremitting study. The great plan 
of learning is to investigate, to develop, to apply. Is there any 
place in the educational field for this study? Let us see. 
The merits and value of anything are best estimated by either 
what it has done or can do, or both. Expression has been the 
most influential factor in shaping the history of man. It has 
lifted him from the depths of barbarism into the enjoyment of 
the enlightened age ; it has kindled his fiery zeal until he has 
sacrificed all for the principles oratory has taught ; it has called 
together and persuaded armies to march forth to do and to die. 
Through its seductive influence one man has gathered enough 
power around him to lay waste a whole country, and carry the 
palm in triumph to his own people. 

The Great Teacher promulgated the doctrines of Christianity 
with such power of expression and such burning eloquence 
that even his enemies feared to take him. He was the great- 
est orator. Paul gave us his wonderful code of ethics, and his 
oratory was irresistible. Spartacus used his oratory against 
Roman slavery, incited two hundred of his fellow slaves to 
rebellion ; seventy of the number escaped. With these he 
went forth, and by the power of his eloquence gathered fol- 
lowers to his standard, and for nearly two years he defied the 
flower of the Roman army. 



54 PAUSES 

Columbus, through the power of his oratory, enlisted the 
aid of the Spanish sovereigns, and America was given to the 
civilized world. By this same expression he quelled the mu- 
tiny on board the ships, which, had it triumphed, all would 
have been lost. 

The expression of Cicero gave us a code of justice. De- 
mosthenes, by his oration "On the Crown," drove /Eschines, 
his enemy and the enemy of the freedom of Greece, into vol- 
untary exile. Martin Luther threw his invective style into his 
oratory with such force that the clergy quailed beneath his 
crushing blows, and the Reformation was the result. John 
WyclifTe, before him, raised his eloquence against what he be- 
lieved to be wrong in the church and started the reformation 
in England. Lord Derby saved the coercion bill from an 
ignominious defeat by the genius of his oratory. Pitt and 
Burke, by their burning eloquence in Parliament, championing 
the cause of the Americans, did much for the freedom of the 
colonists, so much that the stubborn king consented to their 
liberation. Wilberforce, when he introduced his bill in Parlia- 
ment against slavery, found he was alone on the subject. At 
intervals for fifteen years he pleaded his cause, and his oratory 
won. His influence spread, and after twenty-nine years 
more had elapsed the power of his eloquence won others, and 
so procured the freedom of the slaves in all the colonies 
of England. His work had been caught up on this side 
of the Atlantic. Look at this galaxy, who represent only a 
part of the long list who talked in freedom's cause : Thomas 
Jefferson, John Randolph of Roanoke, John Quincy Adams, 
Daniel Webster, Charles Sumner, Wendell Phillips, Henry Ward 
Beecher, Abraham Lincoln, James A. Garfield, and a hundred 
others. 



pauses 55 

Do not think your work in this sufficient with this 
one exercise, but take others, separate them into Thought 
Sentences, and practice reading them, giving careful 
attention to the pauses between the sentences. 

Pauses for Effect are more difficult. They have a 
much wider range and value. Their use is to attract 
special attention to some particular thought or idea. 
They may be made between the Thought Sentences. In 
this case they coincide with the pause for the meaning. 
Again, they may be observed before the Monumental 
Word or after this, or both before and after. This de- 
pends upon how strongly the reader or speaker wishes 
to impress the thought on the minds of his hearers. In 
pleasure, pathos, anger, and humor, still greater latitude 
is allowed. The only guide that can be given is, the 
more intense the emotion, the more frequent and longer the 
pauses. No definite rule can be laid down for these 
observations. It is with these like some other things in 
reading and speaking, — the fewer rules one is bur- 
dened with, other than a few salient principles, the 
better will be the work ; the more natural the expres- 
sion, the less mechanical will it seem to the listener. 

If the pathos is very deep, a pause may be made after 
nearly every word. The more intense the anger, the 
more frequent and longer the pauses. The greater the 
pleasure or the more provoking the humor, the more 
the same principles must be observed. The frequency 
of these pauses, as well as their length, must be left to 
the judgment of the reader or speaker ; experience will 



56 PAUSES 

teach him that, as a rule, his audience must be prepared 
for the effect. If the audience has been properly pre- 
pared, or in other words, if the entertainer has his audi- 
ence within his control, he can use with effect the old 
Greek maxim, " Next to the chamber of laughter lies 
the chamber of tears," and vice versa. Then pauses 
can be made with telling effect. 

If you do not succeed as well at first as you think 
you should, do not be discouraged, for it requires 
an expert to handle rhetorical pauses skillfully. Good 
teachers of reading no longer say to the pupil, stop 
at the comma long enough to count one ; at the semi- 
colon, two ; the colon, four ; the interrogation point, four ; 
the exclamation point, four ; and the period, six. To my 
own personal knowledge, this method of teaching pauses 
has widely spread over twenty different states, and I do 
not know how many others ; but no teaching can be 
wider from the truth. The four official points, the 
comma, semicolon, colon, and period, do not mark pauses, 
and have naught to do with expression. Pauses may 
be made where these marks are found, but the mean- 
ing determines this, and not the " point." They belong 
to grammar and not expression. The interrogation 
point and the exclamation point and quotation marks 
have to do almost wholly with expression, but they do 
not suggest the length of a pause as indicated above. 
They show the mental condition of the writer, and are 
simply for the development of the thought. 

An effort has been made for years, by use of the 



pauses 57 

rules, to have all writers punctuate alike, but without 
success. Nearly every printing office has its own rules 
for punctuation, and many of the compositors are not 
thoroughly trained, and, of course, follow rules rather 
than the manuscript. 

One of the most perplexing things the writer has had 
to contend with in his preparation of manuscript for 
journals is the punctuation done at some of the print- 
ing offices. It is not at all soothing to have manuscript 
sent from the printer for approval, punctuated by rules, 
so full of holes by the use of the above points that the 
life of the article is almost extinct. 

A perfectly made sentence requires little or no " set- 
ting off " by punctuation marks. As the English sen- 
tence becomes more and more perfect in its structure, 
the "points" will grow fewer and fewer in use. It 
would be much better to train the student to construct 
the sentence to express exactly his thought, than to 
spend time on the punctuation to bring out the thought. 

I hope I have made plain the fact that punctuation 
marks are not for the purpose of locating pauses of 
expression. Pauses are difficult, and cannot be mas- 
tered in a short time. Develop yourself well in the 
power to make the pause ; get your thoughts accurately 
in mind, then allow the inspiration of the moment to 
suggest to you what pauses to make and how to make 
them. Careful training will enable one to take up a 
very difficult article and give very accurately, at the 
first going over, the pauses. 



58 PAUSES 

" Silence is golden " is as applicable in reading or 
speaking as it is when one should keep still. 

Eloquence does not consist in one's talking inces- 
santly. Indeed, some speeches have been made elo- 
quent by judicious and accurate observation of pauses. 

Separate the following selections into the Thought 
Sentences, and practice reading, observing the pauses 
between the sentences ; also, use your own judgment in 
the pauses for oratorical effect : — ■ 



A WONDERIN' OF HOME FOLKS 

Just a-wonderin' if they're thinkin' of a pilgrim far away ; 
Just a-wonderin' if it's lonesome in that little home to-day ! 
Just a-wonderin' if when morning in at door and window slips, 
And the bright eyes wake from slumber, if my name is on their 

lips ! 
Just a-wonderin' if when evening hides the earth in shadows 

dim, 
If they speak the name of " Daddy," hungerin' just a bit for 

him ! 
Just a-wonderin' if the Junior ever halts his merry laugh 
When his earnest, wistful vision strikes his old Dad's " forto- 

graph ! " 
Just a-wonderin' if my daughter, growin' into womanhood, 
Might forget her plain old father for some wooden-headed 

dude ! 
Just a-wonderin' if the youngest might forget my good-by kiss 
And the big, rough hands that trembled with her tiny ones in 

his! 



pa uses 59 

Just a-wonderin' till a heartache creeps up here inside my 

vest, 
And my eyes hurt with the shadows that are creepin' 'cross the 

west. 
Just a-wonderin' — no, I'm certain there is one who don't for- 
get ! 
One whose thoughts are ever with me, like great stars that 

never set ! 
One whose prayers go on before me, lighting all the shadowy 

deeps ; 
One who doubly joys in my joy, at my sorrow, doubly 

weeps. 
So, I softly say " God bless 'em ! " say it while my eyes are 

dim ; 
Daddy thinks a lot of home folks, and, you bet, they think of 

him ! — Byron W. King. 

REGRET 

I can see the shadows falling 

From the far-off lofty height, 
I can hear sweet voices calling 

Through the solitude of night ; 
I can hear a " never ! never ! " 

Ring o'er the years of Time, 
And I know I have lost forever 

The joys of a hope sublime. 

The days flow on like a river, 
And our joys, like flakes of snow 

Sink down and are lost forever 
In the wild, tumultuous flow. 



60 PA USES 

Childhood begins Life's story ; 

The Man reads only its cares, 
And Age, bowed low and hoary, 

Completes it with sorrow and tears. 

O voices sweet and olden, 

O hands that I clasped of yore, 
Come back in the twilight golden, 

Let me feel your spell once more ! 
O voices of life, that are sleeping 

Where silence hangs brooding yet, 
Come forth at the sound of our weeping, 

Come back at our song of regret ! 

Peace to the wild complaining ! 

Let the lips and the heart be still ; 
Go, work in the years remaining 

With a firmer and holier will ; 
Work on, though the darkness cover 

The path that Hope painted so bright ; 
Work ! the heavens are 'round thee and over, 

And the stars shine forth in the night. 

Toil on, for if labor is holy, 

It crowneth with blessings the brow, 
As God's fields and valleys lowly 

Are wrapped in His mantle of snow. 
Toil on, and when evening slumber 

With its peace thy spirit allay, 
Then the glories of night shall outnumber 

The cares that o'erclouded the day. 

— Byron W. King. 



PAUSES 6 1 



OPPORTUNITY 



Master of human destinies am I ! 

Fame, love, and fortune on my footsteps wait. 

Cities and fields I walk : I penetrate 
Deserts and fields remote, and, passing by 

Hovel and mart and palace, soon or late, 

I knock unbidden once at every gate ! 
If sleeping, wake : if feasting, rise before 

I turn away. It is the hour of fate, 

And they who follow me reach every state 
Mortals desire, and conquer every foe 

Save death ; but those who doubt or hesitate, 
Condemned to failure, penury, and woe, 

Seek me in vain and uselessly implore — 

I answer not, and I return no more. 

— John J. I 11 galls. 

ATHENS AND JERUSALEM 

In the historic catalogue of earth's great cities two names 
stand out in bold relief — Athens and Jerusalem. The debt 
the civilized world owes these two ancient cities cannot be 
estimated. Athens, for centuries, was the school of art and 
literature. Jerusalem has ever been the home of Christianity, 
the holy city of the Christian world. The many striking simi- 
larities are noticeable : the same strongly fortified walls, the 
same brilliant and cultured people, the continual strife for 
supremacy, the strict observance of religious affairs, and the 
two noblest products of the human race, Socrates and Christ. 
Athens charms the eye with its sculpture ; Jerusalem opens the 
windows of the sky and grants a vision of the perfect statue of 



62 PA USES 

Man : Athens boasts of the music of Apollo ; Jerusalem brings 
down a multitude of the heavenly host and lavishes celestial 
harmony on the shepherd ear. 

Athens was queen of the pagan world. She had a casket 
of the rarest architectural jewels — the temple-crowned Acrop- 
olis. Like a setting to a diadem the Parthenon stands clear 
and beautiful against the deep blue of the sky, the crown of 
the Acropolis, the pride of Athens. In Athens, as in Jerusalem, 
one treads on soil where the purest souls this earth has ever 
known were put to death by those who hated them. Some- 
where on Mars' Hill, four hundred years before the scene of 
Calvary, Socrates drank that fatal cup of hemlock, forced upon 
him by his enemies. 

Jerusalem, the Holy, — the dwelling of peace enthroned 
upon the hills of Judah, overflowing with riches, the free-will 
offerings of a devoted people, decked with the barbaric splen- 
dor of Eastern taste, — it was once the rival in power and won- 
drous beauty of the most magnificent cities of antiquity. 
To-day it has no streets of palaces, no high-raised arches of 
triumph, no fountains to cool the air or porticoes to exclude 
the sun, not a single vestige to announce its former military 
greatness or commercial advancement. No other spot on earth 
appeals so powerfully both to the intellect and the emotions. 
No other is hallowed by so many memories as the Mount of 
Olives ; often in its secluded groves Jesus uttered words famil- 
iar now to millions of our race. From Olivet He gazed ten- 
derly upon Jerusalem, and wept as He foretold its doom. 
Gethsemane lies at its base, memorable for that struggling mid- 
night hour, and another spot marks the place where the last 
words left His quivering, pain-drawn lips. 

Socrates, although born four hundred and seventy years before 



PA USES 63 

Christ, was a kind of forerunner of that greater Teacher who was 
the friend of publicans and sinners. He was a reformer and 
a missionary, preaching a higher morality and revealing loftier 
truths than any other person in pagan antiquity. He was 
indifferent to wealth, honor, and even power. In fact he spent 
a whole lifetime, like unto Christ, in giving all that was good — 
his love and tenderest counsel. 

The teachings of Socrates gave an immense impulse to civi- 
lization, but they could not reform the world ; Christ's teach- 
ings are permanent and applicable to all mankind. Socrates 
taught philosophy ; Christ, the brotherhood of mankind. Soc- 
rates' method was complex and aggressive ; Christ's, kind and 
simple. Socrates was only a man ; Christ, the Son of God. 

Athens can never die. Her influence has come down through 
the ages like the light from a fixed star. She still lives in every 
statue, in every reproduction of Doric column or Corinthian 
capital. It is Athens that teaches that past works and achieve- 
ments are imperishable. Athens — birthplace of man's earliest 
masterpieces, the mother of imperishable memories, and of 
an art that conquers time ! 

Jerusalem is so thronged with classic and religious memories 
that it will live forever. The Jew, persecuted and downtrodden, 
may yet smile in glorious triumph over his enemies. And what 
is he doing now for the good of mankind ? Two thirds of the 
journalism of Europe to-day is said to be controlled by He- 
brews. In art, music, and finance they are unrivaled. That 
woman of surpassing histrionic genius, Sarah Bernhardt, is a 
Hebrew. Rubenstein and Mendelssohn were Jews. And the 
Jewish house of the Rothschilds controls the diplomacy of em- 
pires. They have given to the nations of ihe civilized world 
their Bible, their religion, and their Savior. 



64 PAUSES 

O Athens ! O Jerusalem ! Oft destroyed, yet standing ! 
'Tis not your temples we now admire, 'tis not your soldiers 
we now applaud; your splendor is in ruin, your prowess is 
vanished. Not by these were you to conquer us, but by the 
lofty and noble principles of your two greatest children — 
Socrates and Christ. With their ideas you fill the world and 
move its wheels of progress. Through them you are regnant 
still. Most of your great contemporaries have moldered into 
dust. The bat and the owl inhabit their towers, and the fox 
nestles her young in the corridors of their palaces ; but you, 
Athens and Jerusalem, still sit in solitary grandeur upon your 
lonely hills, and, though faded and feeble and ruinous, in the 
splendor of your great ideas tower above all the spires and 
domes and pinnacles ever erected by human hands. 

— Edna A. Townsley. 

THESE COME NOT BACK 

Remember ! three things come not back — 
The arrow sent upon its track ; 
It will not swerve, it will not stay 
Its speed ; it flies to wound or slay. 

The spoken word, so soon forgot 
By thee, but it has perished not ; 
In other hearts 'tis living still, 
And doing work for good or ill. 

And the lost opportunity, 

That cometh back no more to thee ; 

In vain to weep, in vain to yearn — 

These three will nevermore return. — Anon. 



CHAPTER V 
Emphasis 

Both reading and speaking consist of more than a 
repetition of words. The whole object of reading or 
speaking for others is to present thoughts. 

If words are repeated in a humdrum manner, with a 
sameness of spirit, sameness of force, sameness of inflec- 
tion, nothing is said. 

When a person listens to a reading or a lecture or a 
discourse, and goes away and afterwards cannot tell 
much about what he heard, the fault does not always 
lie with the listener. The probabilities are, nothing was 
said. Because of a repetition of words it does not 
follow that thoughts have been expressed. 

Probably the most potent factor in expression of 
thought is Emphasis. Without Emphasis there can be 
no accuracy in the expression of thought. Emphasis 
is of psychic origin. It reveals the impulse of the 
mind, or thought, that the reader or speaker would leave 
with the hearer. The etymology of the word gives its 
true character. It is of Greek origin, coming to us 
through the Latin ; Emphasis (em, en, from the Greek, 
meaning in, and pJiase, from the Greek, meaning to 
make, to appear, or force) is any method of expression 

65 



66 EMPHASIS 

which will force the thought into the mind of the 
listener. 

Emphasis is voice gesture, but Emphasis does not in- 
clude all of voice gesture. Any manner of expression 
that will make the Thought Centers stand out, as it were, 
and call especial attention to the Monumental part of 
the sentence, so that the listener may not be in doubt 
as to what is meant, is emphasis. Many young readers 
and speakers think that to be emphatic they must be 
loud, if not even boisterous. This idea is gotten from 
some of the text-book readers and speakers, but this is 
far from the truth. Emphasis is broad and difficult. 
Here, again, if the reader or speaker has had the proper 
educational training, so as to free his body and voice 
and thus give them a wide range of expression, and 
bring them under strict obedience of the will, so that 
each responds quickly and accurately to the impulse of 
the mind, no rules are necessary, and but a few under- 
lying principles need be taught. To emphasize strictly 
by rule is too mechanical ; but to develop the power to 
emphasize, some mechanical work is necessary. This is 
as true of this work as of any other educational subject. 
All the different elements of expression when first at- 
tempted will be mechanical until skill is acquired in their 
usage. A gesture or an element of expression is mechani- 
cal as long as the use of it detracts from the thought to be 
expressed. Good speaking results from good habits of 
work, and good habits are formed from proper training. 

As a conclusion, then, a skillful use of the elements 



EMPHASIS 6 J 

will make them natural, and skill is acquired from con- 
tinuous practice. None of the powers of speech are 
more difficult to handle skillfully than is Emphasis. 
Let us study the "What" in Emphasis, then the "How." 

When a student begins to study a literary production 
for delivery, the first thing that confronts him is, What 
words shall I emphasize to express the meaning? We 
saw in the Thought Sentence that words are not of 
like importance, and that the most important words are 
those found at the Thought Centers. 

All these Thought Center words are principally the 
mediums through which the thought must be presented, 
and so it follows that these words should receive the 
emphasis. These words are known by the continuous 
and logical line of thought which they express. 

We can best show this by a simple illustration. Take 
the following. All the words in italics are to be empha- 
sized, as they are the Monuments of Thought. They 
must be made to stand out in such a manner that the 
mind of the listener will have a clear, distinct picture of 
the thought the reader or speaker has in mind. 

Vocations 



Next to the work of the clergyman, in responsibility — 
and importance — as a life calling, — is the duty of the 
Teacher. 

Martin Luther said, " If I were to leave my office 
as a preacher, — I would next choose that of a school- 
master ox teacher — for I know next to preaching — this 



68 EMPHASIS 

is the greatest — best — and most useful vocation — and 
I am not sure — which of the two is the better — for it is 
hard to 7'eform — old sinners — with whom the preacher 
has to do — while the young tree — can be made to bend 
without breaking." If Luther lived now — he would 
probably say teaching is the greatest — with all due 
regard to the former. — Preparation is as important — 
for the teacher — as the minister. — Why do some fail 
as teachers ? — Is it because they do not know enough ? 

— No. — Their certificates have the very best of grades. 

— What is the difficulty? — It may be summed up in 
one short sentence. — They lack teaching power — the 
power to give what they have received — a sort of draw- 
ing out process — Expression. — Their explanations are 
dry — and uninteresting. — They lack decision — and will 
power. — Students become indifferent. — The teacher is 
deficient in development — and training — in the powers 
of speech. — Study carefully — and critically — the life of 
the Great Teacher — learn the secret element — of His 
success, — He is your model. — Book knowledge alone 
never yet made a successful teacher or speaker — and 
never will. — We shall always have failures — as long as 
the science — and art of expression is neglected. — To 
succeed we must develop the trinity, — Intellect, — Will, 

— Emotion, — and then gather, — remember, — express. 

— A group of graces. — Frank S. Fox. 

It is apparent that the reader has a double duty to 
perform. He must gather the thoughts from the writ- 
ten or printed pages and reproduce them for the listener, 



EMPHASIS 69 

through the medium of the powers of speech, of which 
emphasis is one. As the thoughts differ in their im- 
portance, so the emphasis will differ in degree. By 
making the power of emphasis harmonize with the 
importance of the thought, the reader or speaker never 
needs to be misunderstood. 

Where no words are made emphatic, nothing is said, 
and this is why* some teachers fail. They talk to the 
class, but say nothing. 

Now that we have considered the " What," let us 
look at the "How." In the chapter on " Pauses" we 
noticed how words are made emphatic by the use of 
rhetorical pauses, but there are some other means em- 
ployed which must not be omitted. 

In anger the Monumental Word is made emphatic by 
speaking it in a loud tone ; but as the passion grows 
into a rage, the more subdued tone is used, developing 
into the growl. The following will illustrate anger : 
" Must I budge ? Must I observe you ? Must I stand 
and crouch under your testy humor ? By the gods, you 
shall digest the venom of your spleen, though it do 
split you. For from this time forth I will use you for 
my mirth. Yea, for my laughter when ye are waspish. 
. . . All this, aye more. Fret till your proud heart 
breaks. Go show your slaves how choleric you are, 
and make your bondmen tremble." — Shakespeare. 

The following is a good specimen of rage. It will be 
observed that the number of emphatic words is very 
much increased. In the extreme of rage every word 



JO EMPHASIS 

has an emphatic accent, and the rate becomes very 
slow. Study the following : — 

" Aye, there upon my knees, mid the blood and dust 
of the arena, I begged that poor boon, while all the as- 
sembled maids and matrons and the holy virgins they 
call vestals, and the rabble shouted in derision, deeming 
it rare sport forsooth to see Rome's fiercest gladiator 
tremble and turn pale at sight of that piece of bleeding 
clay. The praetor drew back as if I were pollution, and 
sternly said, ' Let the carrion rot. There are no noble 
men but Romans.' So, fellow-gladiators, must you, and 
so must I, die like dogs." — Kellog. 

The extreme of anger or rage uses no words for its 
expression. The passion is wordless. The mental con- 
ditions of the speaker are expressed by his actions only. 

In pathos the emphasis is subdued from the beginning. 
The tones are low. The rate is slow to very slow. The 
words grow fewer in number, with an accent on each 
word. A pause between each word is observed until in 
the deepest pathos there is no word, no sound. 

Tears are the first sign of grief, but are not always a 
true sign. Genuine pathos and the deepest, that which 
comes truly from the heart, knows no tears, no sound. 
The following little sketch is an example of the deepest 
pathos. No tears are shed. The expression of it can- 
not be put upon paper. No printer's ink can reveal to 
the reader the depths of this pathos. It lies wholly for 
its expression with the reader or speaker, who develops 
it with the expression of body and the tone of voice. 



EMPHASIS 71 

" And he rushed into the wigwam 

Saw the old Nokomis, slowly 
Rocking to and fro, and moaning, 

Saw his lovely Minnehaha, 
Lying dead and cold before him. 

And his bursting heart within him 
Uttered such a cry of anguish, 

That the forest moaned and shuddered, 
That the very stars in heaven 

Shook and trembled with his anguish. 

" Then he sat down still and speechless 

On the bed of Minnehaha, 
With both hands his face he covered, 

Seven long days and nights he sat there, 
Speechless, motionless, unconscious 

Of the daylight or the darkness. 

" Then they buried Minnehaha, 

And at night a fire was lighted. 
From his doorway Hiawatha, 

Saw it burning in the forest, 
Lighting up the gloomy hemlocks ; 

From his sleepless bed uprising, 
From the bed of Minnehaha, 

Stood and watched it at the doorway, 
That it might not be extinguished, 

Might not leave her in the darkness. 

" Farewell, farewell, Minnehaha, 
Farewell, O my laughing water ! 



72 EMPHASIS 

All my heart is buried with you, 

All my thoughts go onward with you ! 

Come not back again to labor, 
Come not back again to suffer, 

Where the famine and the fever, 
Wear the heart and waste the body. 

" Soon my task will be completed, 
Soon your footstep I shall follow, 
To the islands of the blessed, 
To the kingdom of Ponemah, 
To the land of the Hereafter." — Long fellow . 

The above pathos cannot be expressed ; it can only 
be described. To make an exact reproduction would 
require similar surroundings, similar circumstances. 
Other examples are to be found in almost any of the 
school readers, and it is through the development of this 
kind of reading that the hard hearts are softened, and 
the soul powers developed, and the nature of the stu- 
dent made more sympathetic and kind. True education 
consists in the development of the soul powers, not in 
intellect alone. 

Emphasis, therefore, is for the purpose of expressing 
thought and feeling. The thought cannot be expressed 
until it is in the mind of the reader. One of the essen- 
tials of a good reader is to grasp the thought on the 
printed page quickly. The writer puts so much of him- 
self, that is, his ego, behind the words; there is nothing 
in words alone, they are only suggestive ; everything lies 



EMPHASIS 73 

behind them, and the ability to grasp what lies behind 
the words is obtained largely through the mental drill re- 
ceived by careful and continuous study and pointing out 
the Thought Center and the Monumental parts of a sen- 
tence. This drill gives accuracy in grasping thought. 
To emphasize well, you must grasp thought instantly. 
You must understand without halting. You may stop 
and repeatedly go over the sentence when you peruse, 
but when reading for others you must go straight through 
without hesitating. This quick perception of thought 
can be acquired only by persistent study and practice, 
and no rules can be given for its development other than 
the principles suggested for finding the thought in the 
chapter on the Thought Sentence, which must be well 
mastered. Practice reading aloud. Practice, practice. 
Stumbling on the words in reading and miscalling of 
words is largely due to lack of drill in the accuracy of 
grasping thought. Persons should be able to read page 
after page without making many errors, though they 
may never have seen the production before. 

The hints in this chapter are for the purpose of mak- 
ing your reading profitable to others, and unless it gives 
them pleasure, it will not be of great value. 

We live in the world for the good we can do others, 
for the pleasure we can give to others, and in no other 
department of one's social life is there opportunity to 
do so much as in good reading. 

A good reader is always in demand. Music, painting, 
and art are all proper in themselves, and are all impor- 



74 EMPHASIS 

tant. But we do not believe they stand ahead of good 

intelligible reading. Success depends on ability to read 

well. 

" Come read to me some poem, 

Some simple heartfelt lay, 

That shall soothe this restless longing 

And banish the thoughts of day. 

" Such songs have power to quiet 

The restless pulse of care, 

And come like the benediction 

That follows after prayer." — Longfellow. 

Kinds of Emphasis 

There are three kinds of Emphasis, Antithetic, Abso- 
lute \ and Cumulative. 

Antithetic is used for contrast, as the term implies. 

Absolute, from Latin, ab y away, and solvere, to loose, 
which means independent of any other. Absolute 
emphasis is used where words express independent 
thoughts. 

Cumulative, from the Latin cumulus, a heap. This 
emphasis is used to show climax, that is, one thought 
heaped upon another. 

examples 
Antithetic : — 

(a) Good is in constant warfare with bad. 

{b) The evil mind is seeking to destroy the influence of the 

good mind. 

(e) Light is rather to be chosen than darkness. 



EMPHASIS 75 



Absolute 



(a) This is too much. Get thee gone. 

(b) This is such a. pretty flower. 

Cumulative : — 

(a) " The golden sun, the planets, all infinite hosts of heaven, 

are shining upon the sad abodes of death through 
the still lapse of ages." 

(b) "Tribulation worketh patience, patience worketh ex- 

perience, and experience worketh hope — a happy 
climax." 

The student should select from his reading matter as 
many of these different classes of emphasis as possible, 
practicing them faithfully with the necessary voice 
movements, which he will readily perceive go with them. 
He will find an abundance of material for work in the 
selections at the latter part of this book. 

THE EFFECT OF TOO SUDDEN AN EMPHASIS 

i 

A bishop, who was visiting one of the churches in his diocese, 
requested that the children of the Sunday-school should be 
assembled to be catechized. 

The good bishop put this question rather suddenly to the 
little boy who stood trembling at the head of the class : — 

" Who made the world?" The little fellow, with quivering 
voice, replied, " I didn't." 

The bishop, astonished at the answer, demanded, " What 
do you mean, sir?" Still more frightened, the lad replied, 
" If — I — did — I — won't — do — it — again ! " 



CHAPTER VI 
Articulation 

Articulation (Latin artiailo, separated into joints, 
from artus, a joint) is the correct and accurate pro- 
duction of the speech elements, either singly or when 
associated in words and sentences. Development and 
training in Articulation are quite necessary for clear, 
accurate, and distinct utterance. This drill work should 
be begun early in the pupil's school life and then care- 
fully guarded. Inasmuch as a beautiful rendition of the 
" King's English" is preferred above all other styles of 
speaking, dialects, "baby talk," and all gibberish should 
be avoided in the early drill in speech. 

If words and sentences are articulated clearly and 
accurately and the vocal elements given their propor- 
tionate time (see Quantity), a speaker can be understood 
at twice the distance he can if his articulation is indis- 
tinct or inaccurate. Correct articulation is based upon 
the person's ability to place the organs of articulation in 
proper contact. Every element of speech, to be made 
properly, requires a special and accurate position of the 
organs of voice and articulation. This accuracy is the 
result of doing until a habit is formed. Hence, the pupil 
should be trained early in life so that the motor areas of 
the brain will develop accurate habits and accurate lines 

76 



AR TICULA TION J J 

of least resistance. No good articulation can result from 
careless or inaccurate placing of the organs. Just as the 
minutest change in the length, tension, or thickness of a 
string will change the quality and pitch of tone, so the 
slightest variation of the organs of tone production or 
articulation will change the correctness of speech. 
While absolute perfection in articulation may be next 
to an impossibility, yet a student can accomplish mar- 
velous things in his efforts to reach that ideal. That the 
student may proceed intelligently in this work, a brief 
analysis of the positions of the organs of articulation to 
produce the several elements is here given in alphabeti- 
cal order. In your efforts to make the sound repre- 
sented by the letters as indicated by the following 
directions, you must study them by introspection ; that 
is, let your mind's eye look into your mouth and note 
what takes place and see that all the conditions are ful- 
filled. Articulation of the vocals is the simplest action 
of the vocal cords, and the necessary help by the mus- 
cles of respiration and the several forms and capacities 
of the resonant chambers, which give tone color. This 
is the least intricate of articular action. 



A, long sound. This represents the most prolonged of 
all the elementary sounds of our language. The reason 
is, in making this sound of a, the mouth and pharynx are 
most widely opened. This sound represents the extreme 
of openness in producing the elementary sounds. We 



78 



ARTICULATION 



might well say, since an element is " one of the sim- 
plest or essential parts or principles of which anything 
consists," that there is but one elementary sound in our 
speech, and this is represented by this a character ; for by 
modifying this one vocal element by the organs of articu- 
lation in the several respective positions, all the other ele- 
ments will be produced. Let me repeat, this represents the 
long sound of a, for if the same consonant is articulated 
after all the other vocal elements, this vocal element will be 
prolonged the longest, because the mouth and pharynx 
being most widely separated, the organs of articulation 
will have to move the greatest distance to articulate the 
consonant after this long sound of a. There are long 
and short sounds, because the articulate organs have dif- 
ferent degrees of separation. 
To make this sound cor- 
rectly, the teeth and lips 
should be separated about 
one inch and a quarter, 1 or 
till the second and third 
fingers together, one upon 
the other, can be inserted 
between the teeth. Now 
expand the pharynx by de- 
pressing the base or root 
of the tongue, and at the same time elevate the soft 
palate until the opening, in which the uvula hangs, is 
about one inch in diameter. Now force the breath so 

1 I am speaking of an average sized mouth. 




Note how large the passage for tone. 

Cut 15. 



ARTICULATION 



79 



as to cause the vocal cords to vibrate on a medium 
pitch. Cut 15 shows the open throat for the correct 
production of this long sound of a. 

Note. — Beginning students will have to practice many days 
before they can take this position of the throat well and easily. 
Look at the throat with a mirror, and see how wide you can open 
it. To develop this open throat is one reason for the exercise of 
catching the breath through the mouth. 

a 

To make the sound represented by this character, 

bring the teeth just a little closer, say one quarter of an 

inch, than for long a ; raise the root of the tongue a very 

little; now expel the breath, making the vocal cords to 

vibrate on a medium pitch. This is generally known 

as short Italian a. 

a 

For the sound represented by this character, hold 
the throat in about the same position as for the former 




SO AR TICULA TION 

sound, long a. Now bring the lips together, rounding 
them and projectiug them slightly. This position is 
shown in Cut 16. The circle should be just a little 
elliptical, with the long diameter of the ellipse perpen- 
dicular with the point of the chin. The cheeks will be 
slightly hollowed. This is generally called the broad 

sound of a. 

a 

This is the caret sound of a, or the sound of a before 
the letter r in words like car. Separate the teeth about 
one half inch and the lips enough to expose the tips of 
the teeth a very little. With the pharynx slightly ex- 
panded, cause the vocal cords to vibrate as if you would 
say the letter r. Be very careful not to move any part 
of the tongue. 

a 

To make this breve sound of a, separate the teeth 
about one fourth of an inch, and the lips so as to show 
one third of the teeth. Let the tongue lie naturally in 
the bottom of the mouth, with the tip just touching the 
lower teeth. Now slightly lower the root of the tongue 
and make a short, quick, and forcible tone as if trying 
to pronounce at quickly, leaving off the letter t. 

a 

In articulation, this macron sound of a is the shortest 
of the a sounds. The mouth is the most nearly closed 
of all this A group. To produce this sound correctly, 
separate the teeth slightly, and the lips so as to expose 



ARTICULATION 8 1 

one half the teeth. Let the tongue rest easily in the 
bottom of the mouth, with the tip just touching the lower 
teeth. Now, without moving the muscles of the mouth 
or throat, pronounce hay quickly, avoiding the breath of 
h as much as possible. For this position of lips and 
teeth, see Cut 12. 

b 

To make the sound represented by the letter b, close 
the lips firmly; raise the veil of the palate, extending it 
backward until the upper part of the pharynx is covered 
so as to prevent all escape of breath through the nose ; 
at the same time lower the root of the tongue. With 
the pharynx and back part of the mouth thus distended, 
cause the vocal cords to vibrate so the tone is on a me- 
dium pitch, and the sound for b will result. You can 
prolong the sound of b only as long as it will take to 
fill the cavity thus formed with breath from the vocal 
cords to the lips. Over fifty per cent of persons when 
talking make p instead of b. 

c 

This letter, c, has no sound of its own. The two 
sounds it stands for are represented by k and s. K 
represents the short sound of c; s represents the long 
sound. See directions for k and s. 

Note. — It is thought better to say the short sound and the long 
sound of c, rather than the hard sound and the soft sound, because 
long and short are in accord with the close and open principles of 
sound production in speech. 



82 AR TICULA TION 

d 

The sound that d represents is made by separating 
the lips and teeth slightly, then closing the front part of 
the mouth so no breath can escape, by spreading the end 
of the tongue across the front part, back of the upper 
teeth, then raising the veil of the soft palate and closing 
the passage through the nose as in making b ; lower the 
root of the tongue ; then make the vocal cords vibrate as 
in b> and the sound for d will result. 

The sound for d cannot be prolonged as much as the 
sound for b, because the cavity of the mouth and throat 
above the vocal cords is made smaller by the position of 
the tongue. The tongue opposite the middle of the 
cheek forward will rise, and the movement is that of 
contraction. Sixty-five per cent of the people make t 
instead of d when talking. 



This tilde sound of e is the long sound, that is, it is 
continued longer because the organs are more widely 
separated when the sound is produced than they are 
when making either of the other sounds. 

To make this sound, separate the teeth about one 
eighth of an inch, and the lips so as to show about one 
half the teeth ; now draw the lips firmly back against 
the teeth ; expand the pharynx by lowering the root of 
the tongue ; draw the tongue back in the mouth till the 
tip is on a straight line with the first molar teeth ; now 



AR TICULA TION 8 3 

give the sound as if you would pronounce her, omitting 
the h breathing. 

e 

For the breve sound of e, put the teeth, mouth, and 
throat in the same position as for making macron a, 
then pronounce net, leaving off the n and t, and as you 
make the sound expand the throat by drawing down the 
root of the tongue. Give the sound force, and make it 
quick and explosive. 

e 

To make this, the macron sound of e, the mouth is 
more nearly closed than when making either of the 
other sounds. Hence this is the short sound of e. To 
make this sound, separate the teeth slightly ; depress the 
tongue lengthwise through the middle, elevating the 
outer edges so as to touch the upper teeth as far for- 
ward as the bicuspids ; now put a tension on the tongue 
and throat and pronounce the word eat, leaving off the 
letters a and /, being careful not to move the tongue. 



F has no vibratory sound ; that is, sound made by the 
vibration of the vocal cords. It is a nonvocal or aspi- 
rant (Latin ad, to, and spirare, to breathe) and belongs in 
the class — f, s, h. 

To make the sound of f, gently press the lower lip 
against the upper teeth ; then force the breath between 
the teeth and lips without the vibration of the vocal 



84 AR TIC ULA TION 

cords. This will make a hissing sound, but it is not 
voice. 

% 

The letter g is used to represent two sounds. The 
one is the short, or hard; sound of g; the other, the 
long, or soft, sound. The short sound is made by rais- 
ing the root of the tongue so as to touch the roof of the 
mouth at the juncture of the hard and soft palates, thus 
shutting off the exit through the mouth. Now raise the 
soft palate as in making b, so as to close the exit through 
the nose. Now make the vocal cords vibrate as for b 
or d, and this will be the sound of g short. 

The duration of voice will be very short, because the 
cavity above the vocal cords to store the breath is so 
small. The sound will be prolonged a little more after 
the student has developed the pharynx to be flexible. 
Many persons do not make this short sound of g at all, 
because the pharynx cavity is so very small. Such per- 
sons will require a good deal of practice to make g short. 

The long sound of g is the same as the sound of j, 
and the student is referred to j. 

h 

//is a nonvocal ; its sound is that of breath only. Un- 
like any of the other letters, there is neither movement 
of the vocal cords nor organs of articulation, only the 
muscles of respiration. It stands in a class by itself. 
It is the least complicated element of all the letters, as 
there is no voice nor articulation. Separate the teeth 



AR TICULA TION 8 5 

about one half an inch ; give an impulsive exhalation of 
the breath, without vibration of the vocal cords ; or 
make the effort of labored breathing ; this will give the 
h sound. 



The letter i represents two sounds, macron l and 
breve i. The macron I is the long sound. It belongs 
to the open vocal elements. To make the macron sound 
of i, separate the teeth about one half an inch ; let the 
tongue lie flat in the mouth, and do not make any effort 
to expand the pharynx. Now think of the tone striking 
the roof of the mouth at the union of the hard and the 
soft palates ; now pronounce the word ice, leaving off ce. 
By pressing the throat between the first finger and the 
thumb you will notice that the throat expands on J, but 
closes again on ce. 

I 

The breve sound of i is made by putting the mouth 
and throat in position for making macron e. Now pro- 
nounce the word it, leaving off the /; at the same time 
think of the tone striking the soft palate, that is, farther 
back in the mouth than macron i. Make the tone with 
a quick outward impulse of the breath, expanding the 
pharynx slightly. 

J 

The letter j belongs to the close consonants, although 
there is some movement to expand the throat when 



86 AR TIC ULA TION 

making the sound ; but this is counteracted by the in- 
creased pressure of the tongue against the roof of the 
mouth. 

To make the sound of /, separate the lips and teeth 
about one fourth of an inch, as when making the sound 
of d\ then close the front part of the mouth with the 
tongue as for d, only placing it against the roof of the 
mouth a little farther back from the teeth and a little 
flatter than for d. Now close the passage to the nose 
by extending the veil of the palate across the upper 
part of the pharynx. Now cause the vocal cords to 
vibrate on a medium pitch, and at the same time depress 
the tongue from near the tip, being careful to keep the 
end of the tongue firmly in contact with the roof of the 
mouth. The movement of the tongue is that of expan- 
sion. This sound can be prolonged longer than that of 

d y but not so long as b. 

k 

The letter k is a mute, that is, it has no sound. Its 
office is that of modification only. Before and after 
several consonants, even modification disappears ; and 
with the other sounds its presence is detected by the 
abrupt opening of the sound of all the vocal elements 
and the consonants //, /, r, s, and y. The companions 
of k are / and t. 

Many teachers instruct their pupils that k is in the 
class of mutes ; that Is, it has no sound ; then in the next 
sentence they ask them to give the sound of k. A little 
illogical ! 



AR TICULA TION 8? 

In articulating k there is neither vibration of the 
vocal cords nor escape of breath while the organs are 
in contact, only when released for the sound of the next 
letter, and because the breath has been compressed in 
the pharynx it makes a rushing sound like the escape 
of steam from the steam chest of an engine ; but the 
making of the letter k is over before this, and the stu- 
dent has passed to the production of the next element. 
To teach that k is a mute and has sound is a confliction 
of terms. To give the modification of k, draw the 
tongue back in the mouth so as to bring it in close con- 
tact with the front part of the soft palate ; now extend 
the veil of the palate backwards so as to close the exit 
through the nose. Next, force the breath strongly into 
the pharynx without vibrating the vocal cords, and the 
articulation of k has been effected. The pharynx will 

tend to contract. 

1 

The sound of the letter / is an open sound, and can be 
prolonged indefinitely. It is so open that it sometimes 
forms the basis for a syllable, as in table. To make 
this sound, separate the lips and teeth as for j\ partially 
close the front part of the mouth with the tip of the 
tongue, permitting the breath to escape on both sides ; 
depress the tongue backwards, keeping the tip against 
the roof of the mouth. Depress the tongue at the root 
as much as possible, or the tone will be nasal. Now 
make the vocal cords vibrate, and the sound of / will 
result. 



88 ARTICULATION 

m 

The letter m represents one of the easiest sounds to 
make. Close the lips without any effort to compress 
them. Let the tongue be in an easy natural position; 
separate the teeth, keeping the lips closed; now make 
the vocal cords vibrate, the breath passing out through 
the nose. This will give a smooth, flowing, humming 
sound, the sound of m. 

n 

The sound n represents is made by combining parts 
of the organic position necessary to make the sound of 
d and the sound of in. 

Place the lips, teeth, and tongue in the position as for 
d. Depress the tongue as for m. Now expand the 
pharynx a little ; make the vocal cords vibrate, causing 
the breath and tone to escape through the nose. This 
will produce the sound of n. xVis a nasal sound. 



The letter o represents three sounds, the breve, the 
caret, or sound before r, and the macron. The breve 
sound of o is nearly like the long sound of a (a), differ- 
ing only in the position of the root of the tongue and 
the size of the pharynx. This, then, is the long sound of 
o. To make this breve sound of o, separate the lips and 
teeth as for the long sound of a ; now draw the tongue 
backwards so as to bunch it at the root, thus raising the 
root towards the soft palate and making the opening 



AR TIC ULA TION 89 

into the pharynx smaller than when the diaeresis, or 
long sound (a), of a is produced. Now cause the vocal 
cords to vibrate by expelling the air with a sudden, 
short expulsion of the breath, as if you would pronounce 
not quickly, leaving off n and /. This will give the 
breve, or long, sound of o. 



This character (o) represents the caret sound of 0, and 
is closely allied to the sound of a, sometimes called the 
broad sound, which is represented with the diaeresis 
under the a, thus a. 

To make this caret sound of 0, put the organs of articu- 
lation in the same position as for the sound of a in all. 
Now bring all the organs a little closer together and try 
to pronounce the word or, witJiout moving any of the 
organic positions, and this will give you the sound of 
caret 0. 

5 

To make the macron sound of 0, project the lips as 
much as possible so as to hollow the cheeks, and open 
the lips so as to make the orifice round and about 
three fourths of an inch in diameter ; lower the base of 
the tongue and raise the soft palate as much as possible ; 
now pronounce the word old, leaving off the Id. Cut 8 
will suggest the positions. This is the short sound of o 
in articulation with other sounds, because the lips are 
closer than in either of the other sounds. 



90 AR TICULA TION 

P 

The letter / is a mnte and belongs in the class with k 
and t. Like k and t, it has no sound; it is a " non- 
vocal," and like k and /, it has organic articulate position 
and is only a modifier of other sounds. The breath 
explosion is accounted for in a similar manner as in the 
k modification, and it is not heard when p is followed 
by /. The breath sound that is heard is what was forced 
into the mouth and passed the vocal cords, and the 
breath that produces the tonic forces it out. To pn> 
duce the modification made by p, close the lips tightly, 
hold them firmly, and force the breath past the vocal 
cords, witlwat causing vibration, and compress the air in 
the mouth and pharynx. Now when you go to articu- 
late another sound, it will have this/ modification. 



q 

The letter q in composition is always followed by u. 
These two always go together, and their sound is repre- 
sented by kw. For directions in making the sounds of 
kw, see those letters. 



The letter r represents two sounds, and they are. so 
open that the one sometimes takes the place of a vocal 
in a syllable, as in acre, nitre. Like /, it can properly 
be called a vocal consonant, for that is just what it is. 
To make the sound as represented by r, when it follows 



AR TIC ULA TION 9 1 

a vocal, separate the teeth about one half an inch and 
the lips to just show the tips of the teeth. Now spread 
the tip of the tongue and raise it till it nearly comes 
to the roof of the mouth, about an inch back of the teeth. 
Now lower the root of the tongue and pronounce the 
word ar, omitting the a. This will give the more open 
of the two sounds of r, or the sound made at the root of 
the tongue. 

The other sound of r is the sound the letter takes 
when it precedes a vocal, in the same syllable, and is 
made with the tip of the tongue. The r in this position 
may usually be trilled, " The r is a trill in most lan- 
guages." To give this trill sound for some persons is 
very easy, and for others next to impossible. Most per- 
sons can get this sound of the r by observing the follow- 
ing positions : Spread the front part of the tongue and 
raise it till it almost touches the roof of the mouth just 
at the root of the teeth ; let the middle sides of the 
tongue rest firmly against the side teeth for support ; 
bring the root of the tongue and the soft palate nearly 
together ; now let the breath flow very gently over the 
tip of the tongue ; at the same time let the tension on 
the tongue be strong enough, that as the breath forces 
it down from the roof of the mouth the tension will 
cause the tip of the tongue to vibrate like the reed to a 
clarinet ; this will give the trill to the r. This sound in 
pronunciation must never be exaggerated by prolong- 
ing it, or its production will be ridiculous. Correctly 
made, it is a mark of culture. 



92 AR TIC ULA TION 

S 

The letter s is an aspirate, a sibilant (Latin, sibilans, 

from sibilare, to hiss), so named from the hissing sound 

it represents. It is a nonvocal. To make this sound, 

separate the teeth slightly and the lips to show about 

half the teeth ; now put the tongue against the upper 

teeth on each side, but leave the tip of the tongue free 

to emit the breath. Now force the breath over the tip 

of the tongue and between the teeth so as to give a 

clear hissing sound. 

t 

The letter /, like k and /, is a pure mute. It takes 
organic articulate position, but has no sound. It is a 
nonvocal. Its office is to modify the initial sound of 
the following letter by making the sound to open ab- 
ruptly. T, like k and p y has no carrying qualities. It 
is the modification of the letter that follows that is intel- 
ligible, and not a sound of these letters, as has been 
taught ; they are mutes. The articulate position of t is 
very similar to that of d } and many persons confuse 
these two letters in oral pronunciation. For the organic 
position of t y spread the tongue across the front of the 
mouth against the roof, so as to prevent any escape of 
breath. Keep the tongue close to the top of the mouth, 
keep the pharynx from expanding, and then by a strong 
effort force the breath into this small cavity, but do not 
let it escape, and without vibrating the vocal cords. 
This is the articulate position of /. Its presence is evi- 
dent by the modification of the following element. 



AR TICULA TION 93 



This represents the breve sound of u, and is found in 
the word up. It is the m©st open position of the organs 
of articulation when making the sounds of u, and hence 
is the long sound of u — a vowel and not a mixed element. 
To make this sound of u, separate the teeth about one 
half an inch and the lips to show the tips of the teeth. 
Do not put much tension on the lips. Spread the 
tongue so that it lies flat in the bottom of the mouth, 
expand the pharynx well, and then pronounce the word 
up, omitting the/. 

u 

This represents the nether semidieeresis sound of u, 
or neutral u. It is to be found in such words as full, 
pull, put. To make this sound correctly, let the tongue 
be in the same position as for breve u sound ; do not 
separate the teeth quite so far nor expand the pharynx 
so much. Now pronounce the word full, omitting f 
and //. 

u 

This represents the caret u sound, and is heard in 
such words as curl, urn. To make this sound, separate 
the teeth and lips very slightly, tension the tongue, 
draw it back a little from the teeth, and raise it till it is 
midway from the bottom and the roof of the mouth. 
Now hold the pharynx firmly, and with a very slight 
downward movement of the larynx pronounce the word 
urn, omitting the m. 



94 AR TICULA TION 

This nether diceresis sound of u is heard in crude, 
ruin, rule, rue. It is a close sound. To make this 
sound, separate the teeth and lips slightly ; put the 
tongue in the same position as for the caret u, except 
the tip a little lower. Now raise the tongue just a little 
at the base ; hold the lips, jaw, tongue, and throat still ; 
pronounce the word rue, omitting r. 

u 

This macron sound of u is the short sound. It is the 
closest of all the vocal elements unless it be vocal 
y. The macron sound of u is so close that it has con- 
sonant y in articulation at its beginning. Its sound is a 
composite one, being made up of macron e, y, and ma- 
cron oo, as in moon. To make this sound of u, put the 
lips, teeth, and tongue in position for making macron e. 
Now begin to make e ; at the same time draw the root of 
the tongue downward until you get the sound of ma- 
cron oo, as in moon. Go through the complications of 
the sound slowly till well mastered ; then go through 
them just as quickly as you can, conveniently. 

v 

The letter v is in part made like /, the difference 
being that v has a subvocal sound. To make the 
sound of v, put the lips and teeth in the same position 
as for f\ now draw the base of the tongue downward, 
lowering the larynx, and at the same time cause the 



AR TICULA TION 9 5 

vocal cords to vibrate. The sound will be that of v. 
V, like f, can be made with the lips alone, but when 
made by the teeth and lip it has a sharper and clearer 
articulation. 

w 

The letter w is an open consonant, so open that it is 
usually semivowel. It is, in fact, more of a vowel than 
is macron u. To make w, project the lips and round 
them as for whistling, making the orifice about one half 
an inch in diameter. Lower the larynx so as to open 
the pharynx, and make the sound as if you would pro- 
nounce the word wood, leaving off the ood. This will 
give the sound of w. 

x 

The letter x does not represent any sound of its own. 
Its two sounds will be found in ks and gz in combina- 
tion, to which the student is referred. 

y 

Y is a fricative consonant, like/", s, v, and z. It is 
an open consonant and is sometimes so open that it is a 
vocal, as in hymn, hyena, hyacinth, hypnotic. 

To make the consonant^, put the tongue in the same 
position as for macron e. Now cause the vocal cords 
to vibrate and at the same time press the tongue against 
the side teeth more firmly, as if to sound the word you, 
being very careful not to lower the base of the tongue ; 
thus you will leave off the on sound, and you will get 
consonant y. 



g6 AR TIC ULA TION 



Put the lips, teeth, and tongue in the same position 
as for s, except let the tip of the tongue lightly touch 
the upper part of the mouth just back of the teeth and 
draw the corners of the mouth together slightly. Now 
cause the vocal cords to vibrate ; at the same time 
lower the larynx as if to pronounce the word zone, leav- 
ing off one. 

th 

The combination th has a subvocal sound and an 
aspirate influence. To make the subvocal sound, put 
the tongue against the back part of the upper front 
teeth. Now cause the vocal cords to vibrate, and at 
the same time expand the pharynx by raising the soft 
palate and lowering the larynx. 

To produce the aspirate, or nonvacal ///, put the 
tongue in the same position as for subvocal /// ; do not 
expand the pharynx, nor make the vocal cords vibrate, 
but force the breath over the tongue and between the 
teeth, as if pronouncing thin x without the in. 

ng 

Draw the tongue back until the tip of it rests against 
the lower part of the gums of the lower teeth, bunch- 
ing the tongue in the middle enough to reach the front 
part of the soft palate, forming a juncture with the soft 
palate. This will cause the soft palate to drop at the 
back edge, cause the vocal cords to vibrate, and the 



AR TICULA TION 97 

tone to pass out through the nose, making the sound 
as it is heard in the word song, omitting so. 

The above are the principal word elements. There 
are many modifications of these, the results of different 
combinations, but it is not necessary to discuss them 
here, as the student will be able to deal with them. 

The after sound of the word elements sometimes 
spoken of is the result of the movement of the articu- 
late organs in changing their position to produce the 
next word element. It is not present when the vocal 
element is produced alone. 

Stammering and Stuttering 

SPECIFIC DIRECTIONS FOR PARENTS AND TEACHERS TO 

FOLLOW 

Stammering and stuttering is a most unfortunate 
defect in speech. It not only hinders the usefulness 
of the person so afflicted, but is the indirect cause of 
ill health. 

While all persons may stammer or stutter under cer- 
tain conditions, — embarrassment, for example, — the 
stammering and stuttering that become speech defects 
manifest themselves when the person so afflicted is 
between three and six years of age. 

A stammerer is one who stops in his speech and can- 
not proceed. A stutterer is a person who repeats a 
syllable or a word over and over without being able to 
utter the following word. 



98 AR TICULA TION 

The cause, or causes, of these difficulties have been 
the subject of much speculation for many years. Nu- 
merous articles have been written concerning these 
speech defects. 

The author, having cured many cases and having 
studied them for the purpose of learning the cause, 
finds certain conditions common to all. 

The persons afflicted are always poor breathers, using 
only the upper part of the lungs ; they are always weak 
at the waist muscles and sometimes even sore. When 
they attempt to breathe with all the lungs, they become 
dizzy. When taking the breath in, the waist muscles 
move in instead of out. They are troubled with short- 
ness of breath. The muscles of the lower jaw are 
weak. The muscles of speech production do not act 
continuously. 

Two things stammerers and stutterers can do ; namely, 
sing and swear. They cannot hold the breath more 
than ten seconds, and when the breath should flow 
out slowly against the vocal cords to produce the 
tone for speech, it leaves the lungs seemingly all at 
once. 

They lack physical endurance. They are nervous, 
and afraid of making mistakes. Seldom are two cases 
alike, yet they are all similar. 

Usually there are only a few of the speech elements 
that cause all the trouble. 

Lastly, all these defects yield to similar treatment if 
taken in time. 



AR TICULA TION 99 

Most, if not all, of the above enumerated troubles are 
results of the speech difficulty, not the cause. The cause 
lies deeper. 

Cause of Stammering a7id Stuttering 

In nearly all cases investigated by the author, he has 
found that some other member of the stammerer's family, 
either immediate or remote, is or has been so afflicted, 
more or less ; or the afflicted person has when a mere 
child played with or been with some one who has had 
this speech difficulty. 

In one school the teacher stuttered, and nearly all the 
smaller children did likewise. Often a number of cases 
are found in the same community. In a number of 
cases one of the parents was afflicted. Sometimes the 
author has been told that the trouble began after a 
severe illness. His opinion is that it was present in 
a mild form previous to the sickness, and disease 
having left the child's muscles weak, the trouble became 
exaggerated. 

The cause of stammering and stuttering is not abso- 
lutely known, although much speculation has been 
indulged in. The author believes the cause to be 
unequal growth in mental and pJiysical activity, and 
on this basis must the cure be effected. 

Speech is the result of certain muscular activities. 

These muscles are controlled by certain motor areas of 

the brain. Back of the motor areas of the brain, on 

the "throne invisible," are the thought powers. The 

LQFC. 



I OO AR TICULA TION 

primary element is thought. Thought prompts the 
motor areas to act, and the motor centers manifest their 
activities in bodily muscular movements. 

If for any reason the motor areas of the brain are 
not properly developed, there will be a lack of proper 
action of the muscles. No person grows active sym- 
metrically. One person lacks correct motor activity in 
the brain centers that control the feet ; another, the 
legs ; another, the digestive organs ; another, the arms 
or hands, — and with some persons it is in the motor 
areas that control some of the muscles of speech, and 
this lack of development shows itself in stammering or 
stuttering. 

Evidence of the lack of these several developments is 
ocular, and it is not necessary to argue further. The 
truth is apparent. 

The Ctire 

From the above facts it is evident that the cure must 
be in the symmetrical development of the motor areas 
of the brain, that the cure must be mental or psychical. 
The sooner the remedial work is begun, the sooner and 
easier can a cure be effected. It is a well-established 
fact that the work of mental development can be 
delayed too long and until it is too late to accomplish 
the desired result. The nascent period of mental 
development is before the person has reached the age 
of twenty-five years. The author firmly believes that 
every case of stammering or stuttering can be cured if 



AR TICULA TION I O I 

the person begins the drill here recommended before 
the age of twenty years. He is also convinced that 
it is almost impossible to effect a permanent cure after 
the age of twenty-five ; but the person can be greatly 
benefited if the drill is given at any time. 

To succeed in the cure of stammering or stuttering, 
two things both student and teacher must exercise, 
viz., patience and perseverance. Mental growth is not 
attained in a week, or a month ; time is necessary. 

Practical Work 



As soon as the parent or teacher notices any defect 
in the speech of the child, begin to drill on the exer- 
cises under " Breathing Practice " in the chapter on 
" Breathing." 

Drill the child frequently, daily, on all the exercises, 
especially emphasizing the exercises for developing the 
outward movement of the waist muscles and the holding 
of the waist muscles firmly outward all tJie time tone is 
being produced. 

Have the pupil make the sounds of a, o, a, i, e, in the 
order here given and as described in the chapter on 
" Articulation," making each sound separately several 
times. Then reverse the order, and practice. 

Then prolong each sound ten, twelve, fourteen 
seconds, and so on till thirty seconds are consumed in 
the continuous making of each tone. Hold the waist, 
pressing firmly outward, and the lower jaw without 



1 02 AR TICULA TION 

moving during the tone. Make each tone many times 
each day and repeat for many days. 

During intervals of rest from drill on these elements 
have him talk and read very slowly. Watch closely to 
ascertain which sounds are causing him trouble. The 
sounds of any of the letters may be at fault. As you 
discover which are the faulty sounds, make a list of 
them for future reference. Train the child to articu- 
late these sounds as directed in the chapter on 
" Articulation." 

This drill will awaken the motor areas of the brain 
to action necessary to produce these letter sounds and 
begin their correct development. 

When he can articulate a sound fairly well, combine 
it with the vowel sounds and drill him on the combina- 
tion. Then find the combination in words, and drill. 
Next put the words into sentences, and have the sen- 
tences practiced very slowly, carefully, and accurately. 

All this practice must be done very, very slowly and 
deliberately at first. 

When skill and ease are acquired let the rate be in- 
creased till a normal movement is reached. 

While practicing in this way, drill the pupil also on 
the exercises in the chapter on " Voice Culture " in 
order that he may acquire vocal power. 

In all the voice practice keep the muscles of the waist, 
thorax, throat, and jaw firm. 

There must be no careless, no indifferent practice. 

After some practice on the elements, have the pupil 



AR TICULA TION 1 03 

commit any of the selections in this book and practice 
them orally very carefully and firmly. " Over the 
River " will be found very helpful. Have the pupil 
take a breath at the end of each line in the poem, but 
none in the middle of the line. Later, be sure he takes 
the breath between the Thought Sentences. 

Be sure the speaking is done slowly and firmly. As 
skill is acquired vary the drill work. The author believes 
that every case of stammering or stuttering will yield 
to the above treatment if taken in time. 

The effort must be to acquire a correct habit of 
breathing and speaking, then there will be no trouble. 



CHAPTER VII 
Pitch of the Elementary Sounds 

While no two elemental sounds have the same pitch, 
yet they may be classed under three general divisions. 
The class of highest pitch includes the vocals; the 
middle class, the semivowels and subvocals; and the 
lowest class, the aspirates and nonvocals or mutes. 
The following illustration will make clear to the student 
what is meant. 

From Cut iy the student will observe that the first 
elements whose influence will fail to reach the listener 
will be those of the First or Lowest Class, that is, the 



C O N-T R A-D I C T-O-R I-N E S 

Cut 17. 



Third or highest 
class, vocals: 

Second or middle 
. class, semi- 
vowels. 

First or lowest 
• class, aspirates 

and nonvocals, 

or mutes. 



modification known as the mutes and the aspirate 
sounds. The next sounds that will not be heard will 
be those of the middle class, or the subvocals, and 
then the semivowels. The sounds that the voice will 
carry to the last will be those of class three, or the 

104 



PITCH OF THE ELEMENTARY SOUNDS 105 

vocals. A perfect enunciation requires that all the 
elements of each class shall be nicely blended, and a 
correct proportion sustained between each class. If 
this is not done, part of the person's utterance will be 
blurred. Much drill is usually required to develop a 
correct proportion in the utterance of the pitch of the 
elements. Very few persons are to be found who do 
not require more or less drill in this part of their 
speech. 

I had a number of students who used but very few 
of the elements in the first class, and of course many 
of the middle class would be omitted. One was a 
clergyman who had spent ten years in college. He 
came to me and said, " My people complain that they 
cannot always understand what I say ; what is the mat- 
ter with my speech ? " We soon found the difficulty. 
In many instances, where the case is extreme, the per- 
son is supposed to have a malformation of the vocal 
organs. Two cases have come to me in which the 
persons uttered none of the first class and very few of 
the middle class, only those of the middle that were 
so open as to be almost vocals. Both of the persons 
were bright boys in college. One boy's father was 
wealthy, and he had had the boy examined by over a 
score of physicians, each of whom prescribed the medi- 
cine that would " fix up " his vocal organs. One said, 
"The boy's tongue will have to be cut." But the boy 
objected. In conversation with the boy, he told me he 
had taken "pints of medicine." Nearly all teachers 



106 PITCH OF THE ELEMENTARY SOUNDS 

in the public schools have difficulties with pupils to be 
mastered, which come under the Pitch of Elements. 

In order to develop a correct proportion of pitch in 
uttering the elementary sounds, it will be necessary to 
give most attention to the aspirates and nonvocals. The 
following exercises the student will find most helpful. 
Take each of the letters, /, b, t, d, s, k, g hard, and 
combine them with the macron vowels as follows : — 

Pa, pe, pi, po, pn. 



Ba, 


be, 


bi, 


bo, 


bu. 


Ta, 


te, 


ti, 


to, 


tu. 


Da, 


de, 


di, 


do, 


du. 


Sa, 


se, 


si, 


so, 


su. 


Ka, 


ke, 


ki, 


ko, 


ku. 


Ga, 


ge, 


gi> 


go. 


gu. 



In these exercises hold the contact of the organs for 
these several letters very firmly, forcing the waist mus- 
cles strongly outward ; articulate the syllable very 
strongly and abruptly, but not loud. This pinching 
of the articulate organs tightly together will develop 
the strength of these muscles and give a clear, sharp 
articulation that will have great carrying power. After 
these exercises have been practiced for some days, then 
use these combinations : — 

Peter Piper picked plenty of peppers. 
A big black bug bit a big black bear. 
Don't drive Dan down to Petersburg. 
Many more might move merrily on. 



PITCH OF THE ELEMENTARY SOUNDS 107 

Six brave maids sat on six broad beds braiding broad bands. 
You never saw a saw saw like this saw saws. 
Samuel Shaw sawed six short sticks since six. 

" Robertson is not Robert's son, 
Nor did he rob Burt's son ; 
Yet Robert's sun is Robin's sun 
And everybody's sun." 

The sea ceaseth and the wind dismisseth us with its blessing. 
Give Grigham Grimes Jim's great gilt gig-whip. 

A DEFINITION 

A blush is a temporary erythema and calorific effulgence of 
the physiognomy, etiologized by one's perceptiveness of the 
sensorium when in a predicament of unequilibrity from shame, 
anger, or other cause, eventuating in a pressor of vasomotor 
filaments of the facial capillaries, whereby, being divested of 
their elasticity, they are suffused with a radiance emanating from 
an intimidated praecordia. 

In these exercises the student should be exceedingly 
careful to articulate strongly and clearly the initial let- 
ter to every syllable. Many more exercises might be 
added, but these will be sufficient to show the student 
the line of work to be followed. He can select others 
to suit his fancy. 



CHAPTER VIII 
Modulation 

Every person admires a musical voice, but few know 
how to attain it. If the teacher, or reader, or speaker, 
has a harsh, hard, mechanical tone, unmusical and un- 
sympathetic voice, usefulness in any work is hindered. 
Every one is pleased with a good voice. One of the 
elements that helps to make it is Modulation. In the 
reading work of the school most of the energy is spent 
upon studying "words, words, words." All well and 
good. But we cannot deny the truth that we are 
measured as much by the manner of our speaking as 
we are by the words we use. We are now entering 
upon a new era in the training of the student. That 
person who has a harsh, mechanical, out of tune, 
unsympathetic, nonresonant, uncultivated voice will not 
stand first in the schoolroom or anywhere. The line 
is already being drawn by many of the more intelligent 
school boards and business men. 

The writer, in his travels, has visited many of the 
schools, and observed among other things that the 
scholars talk and do very much as the teacher talks 
and does, — using the same inflections, the same modula- 

108 



MODULATION IO9 

tions if any at all, the same melody, the same peculiar 
accents, the same mannerisms of emphasis, the same 
eccentricities. Because little or no attention has been 
given to the vocal qualification of the teacher, and 
because children imitate unconsciously the instructor, 
the American people have developed an unpleasant 
tone in speech for which they are rather severely criti- 
cised, and probably justly so. Our climate may have 
something to do with this bad quality of tone, but the 
lack of culture has more. The writer once held a two 
weeks' convention in a certain town, and every student 
he had who came from the high school was the pos- 
sessor of a well-developed nasal tone. Investigation 
brought to light the fact that one of the primary 
teachers who had been in the school for years pos- 
sessed such a defect. At another county-seat school 
one of the teachers had a peculiar stoppage in his 
speech, brought on by improper breathing and retained 
because of the continued misdirected efforts of breath ; 
and as a result of the silent influence of the teacher, 
nearly every scholar in that room had developed the 
same unpleasant peculiarity in a greater or less degree. 
At another school a gentleman who was the teacher 
stuttered, and many of the scholars did likewise. This 
is not the place to enter into a detailed discussion of 
the causes of stuttering or stammering and the direful 
results, but suffice it to say that one of the causes is 
imitation. Stuttering and stammering can be traced to 
certain causes. The above is enough to show that our 



1 1 MOD ULA TION 

manners of speech are in a great measure the result of 
imitation, savored with a personality. 

But to return more closely to our subject, let us con- 
sider the principles of Modulation. 

Modulation (Latin modulation a measure) has to do 
with groups of words, a measure. The measure re- 
ferred to is the Thought Sentence discussed in a former 
chapter. Modulation is the manner of reading the 
Thought Sentences as regards pitch of tone so as to 
express properly the thoughts and feelings. 

Some speakers and readers do not give proportionate 
expression to this principle of speech. They overdo 
the application of the principle, and so make their 
speech laughable. This diversion is often used for 
burlesque. For instance, in speaking sentences con- 
taining such words as loud, shout, gruff, rasp, the 
practice of some speakers is to do just as the words 
suggest. Also in such words as calm, silent, soft, and 
mild. While modulating thus will often be correct, it is 
not always so. For example : in reading that passage 
in the New Testament where Luke records, in the 
twenty-third chapter, the mob scene before Pilate, a 
minister, to show his elocution, shouted in a loud voice 
the passage, " Crucify Him, crucify Him." The minis- 
ter was mistaken in the application of his elocution. 
The outrage of justice and the appalling crime that 
this mob was about to commit would so modify the 
expression of this passage as to require it to be spoken 
in almost a whisper, notwithstanding it says, " But they 



MODULATION III 

cried, saying, Crucify Him, crucify Him." Again, in 
Julius Cczsar, Brutus, near the beginning of his forum 
speech, says, " And be silent, that you may hear." 
This passage is frequently rendered by modulating it in 
almost a whisper. This is wrong. Brutus is surrounded 
by a howling mob, and he is striving to get the atten- 
tion. So he shouts this in a loud, powerful voice in 
order 'to reach the ears of all the persons in the forum. 
To modulate it silently would be most ineffective. In 
this kind of modulation the thought must be considered, 
not merely the words of the text. 

Principle 

The principle of Modulation is never to read tzvo or 
more Thought Sentences in the same pitch of voice in 
succession. Neither should they be read in the same 
pitch of tone at regular intervals, as this brings about 
a " singsong " manner of reading or speaking which 
should be avoided. Good Modulation presumes that 
the voice has been trained for flexibility. If there is 
no power to change the pitch of voice, there is a lack 
of mental elasticity. To develop a changeful voice 
means to develop the mind, then the muscles that pro- 
duce voice, and bring them under mental control. The 
drill necessary to develop Modulation must be mental 
as well as physical. For no good reasons whatever 
some school superintendents and teachers laugh to 
scorn all training in voice and speech culture. It may 



112 MODULATION 

be harsh to say it, but it is true when we say that every 
time they indulge in their belittling rapture they only 
lay bare their own ignorance. Do not be too pronounced 
in your denunciations, and you will be saved regrets, if 
not humiliation, afterward. To make the most rapid 
progress in speech culture, one should begin with the 
elements of tone. Experience has proven that the fol- 
lowing exercises will cultivate Modulation quickly : First, 
begin with the long sound of a, making a medium 
pitch, then a little higher pitch, then higher, and so 
continue to ascend till the highest strong pitch is 
reached. Be sure to practice the tone of each pitch a 
number of times before you leave it to pass to the next. 
When the highest tone has been reached, then begin to 
descend, practicing each degree of pitch several times, 
and continue to go down until the lowest is reached. 
Repeat this exercise daily for some time. After you 
can give this with ease, then take a word of one syllable 
with either a or o in it as the basis, and practice it in 
like manner. Next take a word of several syllables and 
produce on different pitches. Then take a short sen- 
tence like the following : We should not live for money 
alone ; and practice it on as many different pitches 
as possible, and as above directed, and until you can 
produce every element in clear, distinct, firm tones. 
Give the sentence in as near a monotone as possible. 
However, accurately speaking, there is no such thing 
as monotone in speaking. This, however, belongs 
to melody. The next step is to take a selection, 



MOD ULA TION 1 1 3 

separate it into the Thought Sentences, and drill as 
directed above. Do not make a practice of pre- 
arranging the pitches. This would make it like music 
and would render the disposition of the pitches me- 
chanical. 

Train the mind to grasp the thought at once, and at 
the same time to determine the pitch, and the voice to 
produce that pitch without hesitation. 

The following gem is splendid for practice ; divide it 
into the Thought Sentences, then practice : — 

CREEPING UP THE STAIRS 

In the softly fading twilight 

Of a weary, weary day, 
With a quiet step I entered 

Where the children were at play ; 
I was brooding o'er some trouble 

Which had met me unawares, 
When a little voice came singing, 

" Me is creeping up the stairs." 

Ah, it touched the tenderest heartstrings, 

With a breath and force divine, 
And such melodies awakened 

As no wording can define ; 
And I turned to see our darling, 

All forgetful of my cares, 
When I saw the little creature 

Slowly creeping up the stairs. 



114 MODULATION 

Step by step she bravely clambered 

On her little hands and knees, 
Keeping up a constant chatter, 

Like a magpie in the trees. 
Till at last she reached the topmost, 

When o'er all her world's affairs, 
She delighted stood a victor 

After creeping up the stairs. 

Fainting heart, behold an image 

Of man's brief and struggling life, 
Whose best prizes must be captured 

With a noble, earnest strife ; 
Onward, upward reaching ever, 

Bending to the weight of cares, 
Hoping, fearing, still expecting, 

We go creeping up the stairs. 



Next take such selections as : " Elegy Written in a 
Country Churchyard " ; " Why Should the Spirit of 
Mortal be Proud?" " The Psalm of Life"; " In 
Memoriam," or any selection in this book. 

If you will train yourself in Modulation, you will not 
want to listen to reading that does not have this element 
of beauty well developed. 



CHAPTER IX 
Inflection 

Inflection, to be understood, must be studied from 
the mental standpoint. 

Inflection (from the Latin preposition in, and flectere, 
to bend) is the sliding of the voice up or down to show 
the speaker's mental attitude toward the thought ex- 
pressed. There are two Inflections : the Rising or Nega- 
tive Inflection, and the Falling or Positive Inflection. 

The Inflection ahvays conies on the Thought Center 
(see chapter on the " Thought Sentence "), and the stress 
of the Inflection will be on the accented syllable of the 
Thought Center and on the vocal of the syllable, because 
the Thought Center receives the emphasis, and empha- 
sis reveals to the auditor that about which the speaker 
is thinking ; and since inflection reveals the speaker's 
attitude toward the thought, inflection must coincide 
with the Thought Center, and, hence, with emphasis. 

In Negative Inflection there will be an upward slide 
of the voice before the stress of the inflection is 
reached, and the length of this upward slide will 
depend upon the number of words that precede the 
Thought Center. And there will be a falling slide 
after the Negative Inflection, unless the emphatic syl- 

"5 



Il6 INFLECTION 

lable of the inflected word should close the sentence, 
then there would be a vanishing slide on the final 
consonants of the syllable. The length of this falling 
slide, like the upward slide, will depend on the number 
of syllables which follow the Thought Center. 

The Negative or Rising Inflection occurs when 
the speaker's mind is in doubt or insincerity, or when 
it disapproves, or there is incomprehension, or desire. 
Doubt makes the person hesitate ; although the mind 
may understand the thought, he questions its propriety. 
When a person wishes to deceive, being naturally hon- 
est, he doubts his course. When he disapproves, the 
mind understands the thought, but does not approve of 
the motive, and the speaker shows his resentment. In- 
comprehension is the failure of the mind to grasp the 
thought or to understand the intention or import. De- 
sire implies the lack of something, hence the person is 
seeking information, and so the mind is in suspense. 

These different mental conditions give Rising Inflec- 
tion, because in each case the mental powers stir the 
Motor Areas of the brain to action which causes a 
tensity of the muscular power, which affects the vocal 
cords, and they assume the conditions necessary for a 
higher pitch, and the voice takes the Rising Inflection. 

The Falling Inflection, like the Rising, is the result 
of mental condition. The voice falls in Approval, 
Comprehension, Satisfaction, Completion. 

When the Mind approves, there is no intention to 
oppose ;• when it comprehends, it is not in suspense ; 



INFLECTION 117 

when there is satisfaction, there is no desire to pursue ; 
and in completion there is no incentive to action. 

All of these conditions set the mind at rest, giving 
ease and comfort, and so do not arouse the Motor Areas 
of the brain ; and there is no tensing of muscle, and so 
the vocal cords relax, and as a result the voice takes 
the Falling Inflection. 

Do you wish to know if the person is telling the 
truth ? Watch his inflection. He cannot deceive you 
altogether. Lies give rising inflection ; truth, falling. 

The Circumflex Inflection is merely a combination of 
the Positive and the Negative Inflections. The mind 
is negative in its attitude, then suddenly positive. These 
conditions would give a continuous movement of rising 
and then falling in the voice. Again, the mind is 
positive, and then suddenly changes to a negative 
attitude. This would give a continuous movement 
of the voice of falling, then rising. The " Straight 
Inflection," or Monotone, shows disinterestedness or 
doubt, hence would belong to the Negative or Rising 
Inflection. 

The following examples will show the different phases 
of the Rising Inflection : — 

DOUBT OR INSINCERITY 

" I doubt not your wisdom. . . . 
Alas, what shall I say? 
My credit now stands on such slippery ground." 

— Julius Ccesar, Act III. 



Il8 INFLECTION 

" Oh, that I might know the end of this day's business." 
" Cassius. I know not what may fall ; I like it not." 

DISAPPROVAL 

" Cassius. You know not what you do ; do not consent 
That Antony speak in his funeral. 

" Bassanio. You shall not seal to such a bond for me ; 

I'll rather dwell in my necessity." 

— Shakespeare. 
" Don't do that." 

" Heaven is not reached at a single bound." 

INCOMPREHENSION 

" I do not understand, tell it again." 

" I cannot by the progress of the stars give guess how near 

to day." 

DESIRE 

" I tell you I want my papa." 
" Sir, I desire you do me right and justice." 
" Would it were my lot to sleep so soundly." 
" Oh, that this too, too solid flesh would melt, thaw and 
resolve itself into a dew." 

The following are examples of Falling Inflection. 
The student should hunt others. 

APPROVAL 

" You have my consent, and Heaven bless you both." 

" I looked them both all over 
And I blessed them with a smile." 

— Car let on. 






INFLECTION 119 

COMPREHENSION 

" I know that my Redeemer liveth." — Book of Job. 
" By Hercules ! I see, I see, if the gods help not our friend, 
he will be run away with by the Israelite." — Lew Wallace. 

SATISFACTION 

" I am satisfied with whatever disposition you make of it." 
" I'm never weary when I hear sweet music." 

— Jessica, Merchant of Venice. 
" How sweet the moonlight sleeps upon this bank ! 
Here will we sit, and let the sounds of music 
Creep in our ears." — Lorenzo, ibid. 

COMPLETION 
" I have done my best." 

" The day is done, 
And the darkness 
Falls from the wings of Night, 
As a feather is 
Wafted downward 
From an eagle in its flight." — Longfellow. 

COMMAND 

" Up drawbridge, grooms, let the portcullis fall." 

— Scott. 
"Ride, ride, Messala ; let them all come down." 

— Shakespeare. 
"Angels and ministers of grace defend us." — Ibid. 



CHAPTER X 



Pitch of Voice in Speaking 



The pitch of voice in speaking is determined by the 
thought. As the materials and solidity of a body have 
much to do with the pitch and quality of tone, this 
acuteness will be as various as the natural bodily condi- 
tions of the speakers differ for the acoustic properties 
of the tone. What would be low for one speaker might 
be high for another, and vice versa. But the pitch of 
each individual will vary with the nature of the thought. 
As a certain pitch is essential for certain classes of 
thought, so certain classes of thought to be well ex- 
pressed demand certain pitches of the voice. The fol- 
lowing table will show the affinity of rate, pitch, and 
tJwugJit : — 

Rate Thought Pitch 

Very Rapid Rate Thoughts of Excitement Very High Pitch 

Rapid Rate Enthusiastic Thought, Joy High Pitch 

Medium Rate Thoughts of Pleasure and Calmness Medium Pitch 

Slow Rate Serious or Sublime Thought Low Pitch 

Very Slow Rate Profound and Solemn Thought Very Low Pitch 

These several classes of pitch shade one into the 
other. That is, Medium to High ; and High to Medium. 
High to Very High ; and Very High to High. Medium 



PITCH OF VOICE IN SPEAKING 121 

to Low ; and Low to Medium. Low to Very Low ; 
and Very Low to Low. The shadings of pitch belong- 
ing to these general classes are very minute, and to 
make the glides so as not to be rough, the voice must 
be trained for great flexibility. The speaker, to be able 
to give the many different degrees of pitch necessary 
for a magnetic, accurate speech, must have much more 
flexibility in the voice than the singer. The speaker's 
voice pitches must be much more accurately developed. 
The singer, in uttering the pitches represented on the 
key-board by the letters C, C sharp, and D, produces 
three tones whether he sings up the scale or down. 
The speaker, in passing over this same range of pitch, 
should be able to produce a score or more of pitches. 
Thus it is that a singer is seldom a good speaker ; to 
become a good speaker he would require much more 
delicate voice culture. A singer may have a wider 
range of pitch than a speaker and at the same time 
produce well a much fewer number of pitches. A 
speaker's voice should have the easy range of at least 
two octaves, and even more, but the most of his speak- 
ing will be done within the range of one octave. And 
he should not be content with his voice work unless 
between each note of the two octaves he can produce 
at least five distinct pitches. For drill in this work, the 
student is referred to the chapter on " Voice Culture." 

The following concrete examples will serve to illus- 
trate the application of rate and of pitch to the expres- 
sion of the thought : — 



122 PITCH OF VOICE IN SPEAKING 

Very High Pitch, Very Rapid Rate. 

To be used in intense excitement. 

" Come, master, awake, attend to the switch, 

Lives now depend upon you, 

Think of the souls on the coming train, 

And the graves you are sending them to. 

Think of the mother and the babe at her breast, 

Think of the father and son, 

Think of the lover and the loved one too, 

Think of them doomed every one 

To fall, as it were, by your very hand, 

Into yon fathomless ditch, 

Murdered by one who should guard them from harm, 

Who now lies asleep at the switch." — George Hoey. 
Here the rate is very fast, because the speaker 
realizes imminent danger at hand. Not one second 
must be lost. He is very much alarmed and excited. 
He talks very rapidly, and on a very high pitch. Very 
high pitch goes with very rapid rate, because the 
organs of articulation and vibration are held close to- 
gether and tense. In order to make quick articulations, 
it is necessary to hold the organs close to avoid long 
distances in movement. Study for practice, on very 
rapid rate and high pitch, " Kit Carson's Ride," by 
Joaquin Miller. 

High Pitch, Rapid Rate. 

For enthusiasm, joy, and pleasure. 

" And lo ! as he looks, on the belfry's height 
A glimmer, and then a gleam of light ! 



PITCH OF VOICE IN SPEAKING 1 23 

He springs to the saddle, the bridle he turns, 
But lingers and gazes, till full on his sight 
A second lamp in the belfry burns ! 

" A hurry of hoofs in a village street, 
A shape in the moonlight, a bulk in the dark, 
And beneath from the pebbles, in passing, a spark 
Struck out by the steed that flies fearless and fleet." 

— Longfellow. 

In this part of the poem, " Paul Revere's Ride," by 
Longfellow, the rate is rapid because of the enthusi- 
asm, and the pitch is high. 

The following extract from Milton's " L'Allegro" will 
illustrate the high pitch and rapid rate in the expres- 
sion of pleasure and joy : — 

" Haste thee, nymph, and bring with thee 
Jest and youthful jollity, 
Imps, and cranks, and wanton wiles, 
Nods, and becks, and wreathed smiles, 
Such as hang on Hebe's cheek, 
And love to live in dimple sleek ; 
Sport that wrinkled care derides, 
And Laughter holding both his sides. 
Come, and trip it as you go 
On the light fantastic toe." 

This example approaches the Medium Rate. Other 
good illustrations of high pitch and rapid rate are 
parts of "How Salvator Won," "How the Old Horse 
Won the Bet," " Lily Servosse's Ride." 



124 PITCH OF VOICE IN SPEAKING 

Medium Pitch, Medium Rate. 

For conversational styles of speech. This rate is 
used in conversation, description, and didactic styles of 
composition. 

EXAMPLES 

"The longer I live, the more deeply am I convinced that 
that which makes the difference between one man and another 
— between the weak and the powerful, the great and the insig- 
nificant — is energy, invincible determination, a purpose once 
formed, and then death or victory." — Powell Buxton. 

" Have you ever thought of the weight of a word 
That falls in the heart like the song of a bird, 
That gladdens the spring-time of memory and youth 
And garlands with cedar the banner of Truth, 
That moistens the harvesting spot of the brain 
Like dewdrops that fall on a meadow of grain, 
Or that shrivels the germ and destroys the fruit 
And lies like a worm at the lifeless root?" 

GOD'S WONDERS 

Grand the expanse of the heavens, but grander the thoughts 
they suggest ; 

Lovely the blush of the morning, the crimson and gold of 
the west ; 

Bright are the stars of the midnight, floating in measureless 
space, 

But deeper and grander the secret we strive mid their bright- 
ness to trace. 



PITCH OF VOICE IN SPEAKING 1 25 

Fair is this beautiful planet,«its carpet of verdure, its seas, 

Its mantle of life-giving air, its sunshine, its mists, and its 

breeze ; 
Deep the emotions that nature quickens to life in the soul, 
But deeper and grander the glimpses we catch of the infinite 

whole. 

Cunning the hand of the artist, a study his thought-chiseled 

face ; 
Bewitching the smile of the maiden, entrancing her beauty 

and grace ; 
Perfect the cup of the lily, sweet is the breath of the rose, 
But deeper and grander the spirit that vainly they strive to 

disclose. 

Wondrous the symbol of being spread out on every hand, 
Wondrous the secret of nature, of the sky, of the sea, of the 

land ; 
Vast is the outward creation, undiscovered by man, and untrod, 
Yet ignorance in its presumption familiarly prates about God. 

— Eliza Lamb Marly n . 

Low PitcJi, Slozu Rate. 

When the thought is serious or sublime, the pitch is 
low, and the rate slow. 

EXAMPLES 

" Let us do our duty, and pray that we may do our duty here, 
now, to-day ; not in dreamy sweetness, but in active energy j 
not in the green oasis of the future, but in the dusty desert 
of the present ; not in imagination of other-where, but in the 
realities of now." — Canon Farrar. 



126 PITCH OF VOICE IN SPEAKING 

" At the devil's booth all things are sold ; 
Each ounce of dross costs its ounce of gold ; 
For a cap and bells our lives we pay, 
Bubbles we buy with a whole soul's tasking : 
'Tis heaven alone that is given away, 
Tis only God may be had for the asking." — Lowell 

"The hills, 
Rock-ribbed, and ancient as the sun ; 
The vales stretching in pensive quietness between ; 
The venerable woods ; rivers that move 
In majesty, and the complaining brooks, 
That make the meadows green ; 
And, poured round all 
Old ocean's gray and melancholy waste ; 
Are but the solemn decorations all — 
Of the great tomb of man." — Bryant. 

" Daughter of heaven, fair art thou ! The silence of thy face 
is pleasant ! Thou comest forth in loveliness. The stars at- 
tend thy blue course in the east. The clouds rejoice in thy 
presence. They brighten their dark brown sides. Who is like 
thee, in heaven, light of the silent night ! The stars, in thy- 
presence, turn away their sparkling eyes. 

" Whither dost thou retire from thy course, when the darkness 
of thy countenance grows? Hast thou thy hall, like Ossian? 
Dwellest thou in the shadow of thy grief? Have thy sisters 
fallen from heaven? Are they, who rejoice with thee at night, 
no more ? Yes, they have fallen, fair light ; and thou dost 
often retire to mourn. But thou thyself shalt fail, one night, 
and leave thy blue path in heaven. 

" The stars will then lift up their heads and rejoice. Thou 



PITCH OF VOICE IN SPEAKING 1 27 

art now clothed with thy brightness. Look from thy gates in 
the sky. Burst the clouds, O wind, that the daughter of night 
may look forth, that the shaggy mountains may brighten, and 
the ocean roll its white waves in light." — Ossian. 

Very Low Pitch, Very Slow Rate. 

To express profound and solemn thought, These 
elements of expression are used in the most thought- 
ful, serious, and solemn styles of speech. Soliloquies, 
the most beautiful descriptions, hymns, the profound 
and solemn parts of the Bible, and sincere prayers, all 
require this style of expression. Low Pitch and Slow 
Rate are also frequently used. 

Perfunctory reading of hymns and the Bible, and 
even prayer, do not have much, if any, of this and the 
preceding style of delivery. There are reasons for empty 
pews. The reason so few persons use these elements 
is because they have not developed in themselves the 
power to place themselves in the psychic condition here 
implied. None but earnest, sincere speakers are likely 
to use these powerful elements of successful speech. 
These powers of speech cannot be developed to artistic 
rendition in a few weeks. They will require months of 
practice. They belong to those parts of oratorical studv 
that promise a life work to the artist. 

EXCERPTS FOR PRACTICE 

" Roll on, thou deep and dark blue ocean, roll ! 
Ten thousand fleets sweep over thee in vain ; 



128 PITCH OF VOICE IN SPEAKING 

Man marks the earth with ruin — his control 
Stops with the shore ; upon the watery plain 
The wrecks are all thy deed, nor doth remain 
A shadow of Man's ravages, save his own ; 
When for a moment, like a drop of rain, 
He sinks into thy depth, with bubbling groan, 
Without a grave, unknelled, uncoffined, and unknown." 

— Lord Byron. 

CATO'S SOLILOQUY ON IMMORTALITY 

" It must be so — Plato, thou reasonest well ! 
Else, whence comes this pleasing hope, this fond desire, 
This longing — after immortality? 
Or, whence — this secret dread, and inward horror, 
Of falling — into naught ? Why — shrinks the soul — 
Back on herself, and startles — at destruction ? — 
'Tis the Divinity — that stirs within us : 
'Tis heaven itself, that points out — an hereafter, 
And intimates — Eternity — to man. 
Eternity ! — thou pleasing — dreadful thought ! 
Through what variety — of untried being, 
Through what new scenes, and changes, must we pass ! . 
The wide, the unbounded prospect lies before me, 
But shadows, clouds, and darkness, rest upon it — 
Here — will I hold. If there's a Power above us 
(And that there is, all Nature cries aloud — 
Through all her works), He must delight in virtue. 
And that which He delights in must be happy. 
But when? or where? This world — was made for Caesar? 
I'm weary of conjectures — this — must end them. — 

{Laying his hand o?i his sword.) 



PITCH OF VOICE IN SPEAKING 1 29 

Thus — I am doubly armed. My death — and life, 

My bane — and antidote, are both before me. 

This — in a moment, brings me to an end ; 

But this — informs me — I shall never die. 

The soul, secured in her existence, smiles — 

At the drawn dagger, and defies its point. — 

The stars — shall fade away, the sun himself 

Grow dim with age, and nature sink in years, 

But thou shalt flourish — in immortal youth, 

Unhurt — amidst the war of elements, 

The wreck of matter, and the crash of worlds. 



" O thou eternal One ! whose presence bright 
All space doth occupy, all motion guide ; 
Unchanged through Time's all devastating flight ! 
Thou Only God — there is no God beside ! 
Being above all beings ! Mighty One, 
Whom none can comprehend and none explore, 
Who fill'st existence with thyself alone, 
Embracing all, supporting, ruling o'er ; 
Being whom we call God, and know no more ! 
Thou from primeval nothingness didst call 
First chaos, then existence ; Lord, on thee 
Eternity hath its foundation ; all 
Sprung forth from thee — of light, joy, harmony 
Sole origin — all life, all beauty thine ; 
Thy word created all, and doth create ; 
Thy splendor fills all space with rays divine ; 
Thou art and wert and shall be ! Glorious ! Great ! 
Life-giving, life-sustaining Potentate ! " 

— Fro?n DerzhavhCs " God.''' 1 



130 PITCH OF VOICE IN SPEAKING 

Profound thought (from the Latin pro, forth, and 
fundus, bottom) means to go to the bottom, complete, 
deep in meaning. A most notable example of this kind 
is in Paul's letter to the Romans. Read it slowly and 
ponder it well. 

" For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, 
nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to 
come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be 
able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ 
Jesus our Lord." 

This is a most masterly effort to teach a people 
infinity. 

Many exercises for practice of this principle may be 
found in Job, the Psalms, Isaiah, the New Testament, 
as well as other parts of the Bible. And in secular 
literature, such productions as Hamlet's soliloquy, "To 
be or not to be," " Over the River," " First View of the 
Heavens," " Burial of Moses," and " The Leper " are 
good. 



CHAPTER XI 
Rate 

Rate is the uttering of words in quick succession. It 
differs from Movement, as it pertains to quickness only, 
while Movement deals with elements of enunciation as 
to thought. Rate may be classified as Very Slow, Slow, 
Medium, Rapid, Very Rapid. 

Very Slow Rate is used wherever there is intense emo- 
tion — either pathos, hilarity, or anger. Fifty syllables 
a minute would be about the maximum for this rate. 
The deeper the pathos, the slower the rate. The deep- 
est pathos is tearless, wordless, and soundless. An 
example of this is the death scene in "Hiawatha."' 
Longfellow says : — 

"And he rushed into the wigwam, 
Saw the old Nokomis, slowly 
Rocking to and fro, and moaning, 
Saw his lovely Minnehaha, 
Lying dead and cold before him. 
And his bursting heart within him 
Uttered such a cry of anguish, 
That the forest moaned and shuddered, 
That the very stars in heaven 
Shook and trembled with his anguish." 
131 



132 RATE 

The above describes the first impulse of his grief. 
As the sorrow deepens with him, note what he does. 

" Then he sat down still and speechless 
On the bed of Minnehaha, 
With both hands his face he covered, 
Seven long days and nights he sat there, 
Speechless, motionless, unco7iscious 
Of the daylight or the darkness." 

The speech of Hiawatha at the close of the famine 
scene is a direct example. 

The rate, of course, is not uniform, but unless this is 
spoken very, very slowly the pathetic picture will be lost. 
If the pathos is not so intense, then the Rate may be Slow. 

Very Slow Rate is necessary in humor, or the audi- 
ence may not be moved at all by the reading of a 
humorous selection. There must be time to drink in 
the " fun " and then time for mental assimilation, then 
time for the auditor to express himself physically, or 
there will be no response from the audience. Such 
examples as the following must be read very slowly to 
be effective : — 

SAM'S LETTER 

" I wonder who w-wrote me thith letter. I thuppoth the 
b-b-beth way to find out ith to open it and thee." 

(Opens letter.) 

" Thome lun-lunatic hath w-w-written me thith letter. He 
hath witten it upthide down. I wonder if he th-thought I 
wath going to w-w-wead it thanding on my head. 

" Oh, yeth, I thee. I had it t-t-turned upthide down. 



RATE 133 

America — oh, who do I know in America? I am g-g-glad 
he hath given me hith addreth, anyhow. Oh, yeth, it ith 
from Tham. # I alwayth know Tham's handwiting when I thee 
hith name at the b-b-bottom of it." 

(Reads.) " ' My Dear Bwother.' Tham alwayth called me 
bwother. I-I thuppose ith's because hith mother and my mother 
wath the thame woman, an' we had no thisters. When we 
were boyths, we were ladths together. They uthed to g-g-get 
off a pwoverb when they thaw uth corn-coming down the 
stweet. It ith v-very good, if I could only think of it. I can 
never we-wecollect anything that I can't we-wemember. Iths- 
it iths the early b-b-bird — iths the early bird that knowth iths 
own father. What non-non-nonthenths that iths ! How could 
a bird knowth its own father? Iths a withe — it's a withe child 
he geths the worm. Thaths not wite. What non-nonthenths 
that iths ! No par-parent would allow hith child to ga-gather 
wormths. It's a wyme. Iths fish of — of a feather — fish of a 
fea — What non-non-nonthenths, for fish can't have feathers ! 
It's a b-b-bird — it's a bird of a — of a feather flock together. 
B-birds of a feather. Just as if who-who-whole flock of b-b- 
birdths had only one feather ! They'd all catch cold and only 
one bird c-c-could have that f-feather, and he'd fly thide 
withse. What con-confounded nonthenths that iths ! Flock 
together ; of course th-th-they'd flock together. Whoeve*. 
heard of a bird being such a f-f-fool as to g-go into a corner 
and flo-flock by himthelf ? " 

(Reads.) " ' I wote you a letter thome time ago — ' 
Thath's a lie. He didn't wite me a letter. If he had witten 
me a letter he would have thent it and I would g-g-got it ; so, 
of courth, he didn't potht it, and then he didn't wite it. 
Thath's eathy. Oh, yeth, I thee." 



134 RATE 

(Reads.) — " ' but I dwopped it into the potht-potht-office, 
forgetting to diwect it.' I w-w- wonder who th-the dickens got 
that letter. I wonder if the potht-pothtman is going around 
inquiring for a fellow without a name. I wonder if there ith a 
fellow without any name. If there ith any f-f-fellow without, 
how dothes he know who he ith himself? I w-w-wonder if 
thuch a fellow could get marwied. How could he athk hith 
wife to take hith name if he h-h-had no name ? Thaths one 
of those thingth no fellow can f-f-find out." 

(Reads.) " ' I have dithcovered that my mother ith not my 
mother and that you are not my b-bwo-bwother.' If Tham's 
m-m-mother ith not my mother and Tham ith'ent my bwother, 
who am I? Thaths one of thoth thing that no fel-fel-fellow 
can find out." 

(Reads.) " ' I have purchased an ethtate thom-thomewhere.' 
Don't the id-idot know w-w-where he hath bought it? Oh, 
yeth " — (reads) — " ' on the banks of the M-M-M-M-Mith- 
ithippi.' Mi-Mi-Mithithippi ? I ge-geths iths Tham's m-m- 
mother-in-law. Tham's got marwied. He th-thaid he felt 
v-v-very nervous. He alwath wath a lucky fellow getting 
th-things he didn't want and hadn't any uthe for. Thpeaking 
of m-mother-in-lawths, I had a friend who had a mother-in-law 
and he didn't like her pwetty well, and she f-felt the thame 
way towardth him ; and they went away on a st-steamer acwoth 
the ocean, and they got wecked, catht away on a waft, and 
they floated around with their feet in the water and other 
amuthments — they eath ith-cream, oranges, and other canned 
goods that were floating awound. When that wath all gone, 
everybody ate everybody elth. F-finally, only himself and hith 
mother-in-law wath left, and they play of checkerths to thee who 
would be eaten up, himthelf or hith mother-in-law. A-a-the 



RATE 135 

mother-in-law lotht. H-he tweated her handthomely, only he 
stwapped her to the floor and ca-carved her up gently. H-he 
thays that vvath the f-f-firth time that he ever weally enjoyed a 
mother-in-law." 

Intense anger demands Slow Rate. Such invectives 
as the following must be done very slowly : — 

" Blaze with your serried columns, 
I will not bend the knee ; 
The shackles ne'er again shall bind 
The arm which now is free." 

Slow Rate is necessary at the beginning of a speech 
or selection, because statements are being made which 
later in the production will be paraphrased and empha- 
sized. These several statements you want the auditors 
to fix in the mind so they may recognize the several 
steps or parts of the discourse, as this will enable the 
listener to get what has been said in a connected whole. 
The maximum of Slow Rate is about one hundred sylla- 
bles a minute. The following by Dr. Wayland is a 
good illustration. 

"The crumbling tombstones — the gorgeous mausoleum — 
the sculptured marble — the venerable cathedral — all — bear 
witness to the instinctive desire within us to be remembered 
by coming generations. 

" But how short-lived is the immortality which the works of 
our hands can confer ! The noblest monuments of art the 
world has ever seen are covered with the soil of twenty cen- 
turies. The works of the age of Pericles lie at the foot of the 



136 RATE 

Acropolis in indiscriminate ruin. The plowshare turns up the 
marble the hand of Phidias had chiseled into beauty, and the 
Mussulman has folded his flocks beneath the fallen columns of 
the temple of Minerva. Neither sculptured marble nor stately 
column can reveal to other ages the lineaments of the spirit, 
and these alone can embalm our memories in the hearts of a 
grateful posterity." % 

In the first sentence he has made four statements 
and a conclusion. The word all is a consummation 
of the four preceding statements. The five sentences 
which follow constitute a paraphrase, or discussion, of 
the four statements and conclusion of the first sentence. 
Remember is the Thought Center of the conclusion. 
The last sentence, " Neither sculptured marble nor 
stately column can reveal to other ages the lineaments 
of the spirit, and these alone can embalm our memories 
in the hearts of a grateful posterity," is the conclusion 
of the whole paragraph. 

Slow Rate is necessary, too, where the thought is 
deep ; for example, Cato on " Immortality," or Milton's 
" Paradise Lost," or Hamlet's " Soliloquy." 

Medium Rate verging to Slow Rate is used in 
grandeur, sublimity, or solemnity, also pathos when 
giving vent to the emotions ; a good example of this 
latter is Job's " Lyric of Woe," chapter three of the Book 
of Job. The maximum of this rate is about one hun- 
dred and twenty-five syllables a minute. The following 
is an example of Grandeur or Sublimity; these are 
synonymous terms : — 



RATE 137 



THE ALPS 



Proud monuments of God ! sublime ye stand 
Among the wonders of his mighty hand ; 
With summits soaring in the upper sky, 
Where the broad day looks down with burning eye ; 
Where gorgeous clouds in solemn pomp repose, 
Flinging rich shadows on eternal snows ; 
Piles of triumphant dust, ye stand alone, 
And hold in kingly state a peerless throne ! 
Like olden conquerors, on high ye rear 
The regal ensign, and the glittering spear ; 
Round icy spires, the mists, in wreaths unrolled, 
Float ever near, in purple or in gold ; 
And voiceful torrents, sternly rolling there, 
Fill with wild music the unpillared air. 
What garden, or what ball on earth beneath, 
Thrills to such tones as o'er the mountains breathe ? 
There, through long ages past, those summits shone, 
When morning radiance on their state was thrown. 
There, when the summer day's career was done, 
Played the last glory of the sinking sun ; 
There, sprinkling luster o'er the cataract's shade, 
The chastened moon her glittering rainbow made ; 
And blent with pictured stars, her luster lay, 
Where to still vales the streams leaped away. 
Where are the thronging hosts of other days, 
Whose banners floated o'er the Alpine ways ; 
Who, through their high defiles, to battle wound, 
While deadly ordnance stirred the heights around ? 
Gone, like the dream, that melts at early morn, 



138 RATE 

When the lark's anthem through the sky is borne ; 

Gone, like the wrecks that sink into ocean's spray, 

And chill oblivion murmurs, Where are they ? 

Yet, " Alps on Alps " still use ; the lofty home 

Of storms, and eagles, where their pinions roam ; 

Still, round their peaks, the magic colors lie, 

Of morn and eve, imprinted on the sky ; 

And still, while kings and thrones shall fade and fall 

And empty crowns lie dim upon the pall ; 

Still, shall their glaciers flash ; their torrents roar ; 

Till kingdoms fail, and nations rise no more. 

Ordinary description or common conversation re- 
quires Medium Rate. It is not necessary to give 
examples here. 

Rapid Rate is used where there is excitement, or the 
first impulse of emotion. Intense excitement or emo- 
tion passes to the state of Very Slow Rate. Some per- 
sons become so emotional, when agitation continues, 
that they can scarcely speak at all. The maximum 
articulation for Rapid Rate is about one hundred and 
seventy-five syllables a minute. The following will 
illustrate this Rate. 

FLITTING 

All aboard, ye travelers, 
For Chicago and the West, 
This train is the " flyer " \ 
All say it is the best. 

One mile a minute, 
We'll flit through the air, 



RATE 139 

There's not a bit of clanger ; 
You need not thus despair. 

Hear the engine puffing 
And gasping for his breath ! 
Hear the stokers grumbling 
Because the track is wet ! 

Forward we are moving, 
Soon we'll have our gait. 
Clear the track, you booby, 
There is no time to wait. 

Oh, but this is glorious ! 
Watch that crossing there ! 
Flitting through the hamlets, 
Past the farms so fair. 

Look out ! There is some danger ; 
A cow is on the track, 
Bump ! how the engine trembled ; 
We knocked her off " cherwhack." 

Now yonder is a city, 
Just a mile ahead. 
" Ten minutes' stop here ; 
Time to get some bread." 

Over plain and mountain 

At such a lively rate — 

" San Francisco, flower land ; 

We've reached the Golden Gate." 

— Frank S. Fox. 



140 RATE 

Very Rapid Rate is from one hundred and seventy- 
five syllables a minute up, and is used in excitement. 
The following extract from Ouida's novel, " Under Two 
Flags," describes the race for the " Soldiers' Blue 
Ribbon and the Gold Vase prize." Thirty-two horses 
enter the race. At the finish only two are left, and at 
the last supreme test only " Forest King " dares the 
leap and wins the race. 

The rate in this selection will sometimes be over two 
hundred syllables to the minute. The rate is not tini- 
form throughout the selection. 

THE MILITARY STEEPLECHASE 

Not knowing, or looking, or heeding what happened behind, 
they tore on over the meadow and the plowed land ; the 
two favorites neck by neck. The turning flags were passed ; 
from the crowds on the course a great hoarse roar came, louder 
and louder, and the shouts rang, changing every second, 
" Forest King wins," " Bay Regent wins," " Scarlet and 
White's ahead," "Violet's up with him," " Violet's past him," 
"Scarlet recovers," "Scarlet beats," " A cracker on the King 3 " 
"Ten to one on the Regent," "Guards are over the fence 
first," " Guards are winning," " Guards are losing." 

As the shout rose Cecil's left stirrup leather snapped and 
gave way; at the pace they were going most men, ay, and 
good riders too, would have been hurled out of their saddle 
by the shock ; he scarcely swerved ; a moment to ease the 
King and to recover his equilibrium, then he took the pace up 
again as though nothing had chanced. And his comrades 
of the Household, when they saw this through their race 



RATE 141 

glasses, broke through their serenity and burst into a cheer 
that echoed over the grasslands and the coppices like clarion, 
a cheer like blast of trumpets, and thrilled on Bertie's ear 
where he came down the course a mile away. It made his 
heart beat quicker with a victorious headlong delight, as his 
knees pressed closer into Forest King's flanks, and, half 
stirrupless like the Arabs, he thundered forward to the greatest 
riding feat of his life. His face was very calm still, but his 
blood was in tumult; the delirium of pace had got on him; 
a minute of life like this was worth a year, and he knew that 
he would win or die for it, as the land seemed to fly like 
a black sheet under him, and in that killing speed, fence and 
hedge and double and water all went by him like a dream, 
whirling underneath him as the gray stretched, stomach to 
earth over the level, and rose to leap after leap. 

He was more than a length behind the Regent, whose hoofs 
as they dashed the ground up sounded like thunder ; it was 
more than the lead to keep now, there was ground to cover, 
and the King was losing. Cecil felt drunk with that strong, 
keen, west wind that blew so strongly in his teeth, a passionate 
excitation was in him, every breath of winter air that rushed 
in its bracing currents round him seemed to lash him like a 
stripe. 

Certain wild blood that lay latent in Cecil under the tranquil 
gentleness of temper and of custom woke, and had the 
mastery. He set his teeth hard, and his hands clinched 
like steel on the bridle. "Oh! my beauty, my beauty," he 
cried, half aloud. " Kill me if you like, but don't fail 
me!" 

As though Forest King heard the prayer and answered it 
with all his hero's heart, the splendid form launched faster 



I42 RATE 

out, the stretching stride stretched farther yet with lightning 
spontaneity, every fiber strained, every nerve struggled ; with 
a magnificent bound like an antelope the Gray recovered 
the ground he had lost, and passed Bay Regent by a quarter 
length. It was a neck to neck race once more, across the 
three meadows with the last and lower fences that were 
between them and the final leap of all, — that ditch of artificial 
water with the towering double hedge of oak rails and of 
blackthorn that was reared, black and grim and well-nigh 
hopeless, just in front of the Grand Stand. A roar like the 
roar of the sea broke up from the thronged course as the 
crowd hung breathless on the even race ; ten thousand shouts 
rang as thrice ten thousand eyes watched the closing contest, 
the gigantic Chestnut, with every massive sinew swelled and 
strained to tension, side by side with the marvelous grace, 
the shining flanks, and the Arabian-like head of the Guards' 
horse. 

Louder and wilder the shrieked tumult rose : " The Chest- 
nut beats ! " " The Gray beats ! " " Scarlet's ahead ! " " Bay 
Regent's caught him ! " "Violet's winning, Violet's winning ! " 
"The King's neck by neck ! " " The King's beating ! " "The 
Guards will get it ! " " The Guards' crack has it ! " " Not yet, 
not yet ! " " Now for it ! " " The Guards, the Guards, the 
Guards!" "Scarlet will win!" "The King has the finish!" 
" No, no, no, NO ! " 

Sent along at a pace that Epsom flat never eclipsed, sweep- 
ing by the Grand Stand like the flash of electric flame, they 
ran side to side one moment more, their foam flung on each 
other's withers, their breath hot in each other's nostrils, while 
the dark earth flew beneath their stride. The blackthorn was 
in front, behind five bars of solid oak, the water yawning on its 



RATE I43 

farther side, black and deep, and fenced, twelve feet wide if it 
were an inch, with the same thorn wall beyond it; a leap no 
horse should have been given. Cecil pressed his knees closer 
and closer, and worked the gallant hero for the test ; the surg- 
ing roar of the throng, though so close, was dull on his ear : 
he heard nothing, knew nothing, saw nothing but that lean 
chestnut head beside him, the dull thud on the turf of the 
flying gallop, and the black wall that reared in his face. 
Forest King had done so much, could he have stay and 
strength for this? 

Cecil's hands clinched unconsciously on the bridle, and his 
face was very pale — pale with excitation — as his foot where 
the stirrup was broken crushed closer and harder against the 
Gray's flanks. 

" Oh, my darling, my beauty — now / " 

One touch of the spur — the first — and Forest King rose 
at the leap, all the life and power there were in him gathered 
for one superhuman and crowning effort ; a flash of time, not 
half a second in duration, and he was lifted in the air higher 
and higher, and higher in the cold, fresh, wild winter wind ; 
stakes and rails, and thorn and water lay beneath him black 
and gaunt and shapeless, yawning like a grave ; one bound, 
even in midair, one last convulsive impulse of the gathered 
limbs, and Forest King was over ! 

And as he galloped up the straight run-in, he was alone. 
Bay Regent had refused the leap. 

As the Gray swept to the Judge's chair, the air was rent 
with deafening cheers that seemed to reel like drunken shouts 
from the multitude. " The Guards win, the Guards win ; " 
and when his rider pulled up at the distance with the full 
sun shining on the scarlet and white, Forest King stood in 



144 RATE 

all his glory, winner of the Soldiers' Blue Ribbon, by a feat 
without its parallel in all the annals of the Gold Vase. 

The student must keep in mind that very few selec- 
tions have the same Rate throughout. Several kinds 
of Rate will be found in nearly every production. 
" Sheridan's Ride " by Thomas Buchanan Read, for 
example, has elements of the five classes of Rate. In 
the examples here given, the Rate under which each 
is quoted predominates. 



CHAPTER XII 

Movement 

Movement is that element of speech which has to do 
with the ethos or manner or style of progression, but 
does not relate to quickness. It does not deal with the 
physical but with the mental condition of the indi- 
vidual. The mind must feel the quality. Thus we 
speak of a Majestic or Dignified Movement ; the emotion 
would be of the ethos kind, such as would be used in 
the delivery of the following from Hopkinsou : — 

" How imploring is the majesty of the law ! How calm her 
dignity ; how vast her power ; how firm and tranquil in her 
reign ! It is not by fleets and arms, by devastation and 
wrong, by oppression and blood, she maintains her sway and 
executes her decrees. Sustained by justice, reason, and the 
great interests of man, she but speaks, and is obeyed. Even 
those who do not approve, hesitate not to support her ; and 
the individual upon whom her judgment falls knows that sub- 
mission is not only a duty he must perform, but that the 
security and enjoyment of all that is dear to him depend upon 
it. A mind accustomed to acknowledge no power but physi- 
cal force, no obedience but personal fear, must view with 
astonishment a feeble individual sitting with no parade of 
strength, surrounded by no visible agents of power, issuing 

i45 



146 MOVEMENT 

his decrees with oracular authority, while the rich and the 
great, the first and the meanest, await alike to perform his 
will. Still more wonderful is it to behold the coordinate 
officers of the same government yielding their pretensions to 
his higher influence ; the executive, the usual depository and 
instrument of power ; the legislative, even the representative 
of the people, yield a respectful acquiescence to the judgments 
of the tribunals of the law pronounced by the minister and 
expounder of the law. It is enough for him to say, ' It is the 
opinion of the court,' and the farthest corner of our republic 
feels and obeys the mandate. What a sublime spectacle ! 
This is indeed the empire of the law, and safe and happy are 
all they who dwell within it." 

We speak of the Somber Movement as illustrated by 
this extract : — 

THE BURIAL OF SIR JOHN MOORE 

Not a drum was heard, not a funeral note, 
As his corpse to the ramparts we hurried ; 
Not a soldier discharged his farewell shot, 
O'er the grave where our hero we buried. 

We buried him darkly at dead of night, 
The sod with our bayonets turning ; 
By the struggling moonbeam's misty light, 
And the lantern dimly burning. 

No useless coffin inclosed his breast, 
Nor in sheet nor in shroud we wound him ; 
But he lay like a warrior taking his rest, 
With his martial cloak around him. 



MOVEMENT 1 47 

Few and short were the prayers we said, 

And we spoke not a word of sorrow ; 

But we steadfastly gazed on the face of the dead, 

As we bitterly thought of the morrow. 

We thought as we hollowed his narrow bed 

And smoothed down his lonely pillow, 

That the foe and the stranger would tread o'er his head, 

And we far away on the billow. 

Lightly they'll talk of the spirit that's gone, 
And o'er his cold ashes upbraid him ; 
But little he'll reck, if they let him sleep on, 
In the grave where a Briton has laid him. 

But half of our heavy task was done, 
When the clock struck the hour for retiring ; 
And we heard the distant and random gun, 
That the foe was sullenly firing. 

Slowly and sadly we laid him down, 

From the field of his fame fresh and gory ; 

We carved not a line, we raised not a stone, 

But we left him alone in his glory. — Wolfe. 

Then we have the Sprightly Movement as illustrated 
by the following from Tennyson : — 

THE BROOK 

I come from haunts of coot and hern, 

I make a sudden sally, 
And sparkle out among the fern, 

To bicker down a valley. 



148 MOVEMENT 

By thirty hills I hurry down, 
Or slip between the ridges, 

By twenty thorps, a little town, 
And half a hundred bridges. 

Till last by Philip's farm I flow 
To join the brimming river. 

For men may come and men may go, 
But I go on forever. 

I chatter over stony ways, 
In little sharps and trebles, 

I bubble into eddying bays, 
I babble on the pebbles. 

With many a curve my banks I fret, 
By many a field and fallow, 

And many a fairy foreland set 
With willow-weed and mallow. 

I chatter, chatter, as I flow 
To join the brimming river, 

For men may come and men may go, 
But I go on forever. 

I wind about, and in, and out, 
With here a blossom sailing, 

And here and there a lusty trout, 
And here and there a grayling, 

And here and there a foamy flake 

Upon me, as I travel 
With many a silvery waterbreak 

Above the golden gravel, 



MOVEMENT 1 49 

And draw them all along, and flow 

To join the brimming river, 
For men may come and men may go, 

But I go on forever. 

I steal by lawns and grassy plots, 

I slide by hazel covers ; 
I move the sweet forget-me-nots 

That grow for happy lovers. 

I slip, I slide, I gloom, I glance, 
Among my skimming swallows ; 

I make the netted sunbeams dance 
Against my sandy shallows. 

I murmur under moon and stars, 

In brambly wildernesses ; 
I linger by my shingly bars ; 

I loiter round my cresses ; 

And out again I curve and flow 

To join the brimming river, 
For men may come and men may go, 

But I go on forever. 

We have also a Stately, Dignified Movement, of which 
the following selection is an example : — 

OTHELLO'S APOLOGY 

Most potent, grave, and reverend seignors, 
My very noble and approved good masters, 
That I have ta'en away this old man's daughter, 
It is most true ; true, I have married her : 



150 MOVEMENT 

That very head and front of my offending 

Hath this extent, no more. Rude am I in my speech, 

And little bless' d with the soft phrase of peace ; 

For, since these arms of mine had seven years' pith, 

Till now some nine moons wasted, they have used 

Their dearest action in the tented field ; 

And little of this great world can I speak, 

More than pertains to feats of broil and battle ; 

And therefore little shall I grace my cause 

In speaking for myself. Yet, by your gracious patience, 

I will a round unvarnish'd tale deliver 

Of my whole course of love ; what drugs, what charms, 

What conjuration, and what mighty magic, — 

For such proceeding I am charged withal, — 

I won his daughter with. 

I do beseech you, 

Send for the lady to the Sagittary, 

And let her speak of me before her father : 

If you do find me foul in her report, 

The trust, the office, I do hold of you, 

Not only take away, but let your sentence 

Even fall upon my life. 

And, till she come, as truly as to heaven 

I do confess the vices of my blood, 

So justly to your grave ears I'll present 

How I did thrive in this fair lady's love, 

And she in mine. 

Her father loved me ; oft invited me ; 

Still question'd me the story of my life, 

From year to year, the battles, sieges, fortunes, 

That I have pass'd. 



MO VEMENT 1 5 I 

I ran it through, even from my boyish days 

To the very moment that he bade me tell it : 

Wherein I spake of most disastrous chances, 

Of moving accidents by flood and field ; 

Of hairbreadth 'scapes i' the imminent deadly breach ; 

Of being taken by the insolent foe, 

And sold to slavery ; of my redemption thence, 

And portance in my travels' history : 

Wherein of antres vast and deserts idle, 

Rough quarries, rocks, and hills whose heads touch heaven, 

It was my hint to speak, — such was the process ; 

And of the Cannibals that each other eat, 

The Anthropophagi, and men whose heads 

Do grow beneath their shoulders. This to hear 

Would Desdemona seriously incline : 

But still the house affairs would draw her thence ; 

Which ever as she could with haste dispatch, 

She'd come again, and with a greedy ear 

Devour up my discourse : which I observing, 

Took once a pliant hour ; and found good means 

To draw from her a prayer of earnest heart 

That I would all my pilgrimage dilate, 

Whereof by parcels she had something heard, 

But not intentively. I did consent ; 

And often did beguile her of her tears, 

When I did speak of some distressful stroke 

That my youth suffer' d. My story being done, 

She gave me for my pains a world of sighs : 

She swore, In faith, 'twas strange, 'twas passing strange ; 

' Tw as pitiful, 'tiuas wondrous pitiful : 

She wish'd she had not heard it ; yet she wish'd 



152 MOVEMENT 

That heaven had made her such a man : she thank'd me ; 

And bade me, if I had a friend that loved her, 

I should but teach him how to tell my story, 

And that would woo her. Upon this hint I spake : 

She loved me for the dangers I had pass'd ; 

And I loved her that she did pity them. 

This only is the witchcraft I have used : 

Here comes the lady : let her witness it. 

— Shakespeare's Othello. 

THE BEAUTIFUL SNOW 

Over the mountains, so rugged and old ; 
Over the meadows, so barren and cold ; 
Over the withered brown foliage and flowers, 
Strewing so sadly the summer's fair bowers ! 
Tenderly, gently, thy white mantle throw, 
Cover them, hide them, O beautiful snow ! 

Come in thy beauty, our sad thoughts beguile, 
Win us from earth and its sorrows awhile ! 
Teach us sweet lessons, remind us that we, 
Sullied with earth-stains, may purified be ! 
Walking as angels, though dwelling below — 
Spotless as thou art, O beautiful snow ! 

Over the hearts that are weary and worn, 
Over the mortals who wander forlorn ; 
Over the hopeless, the helpless, oppressed, 
Draw thy white curtain, and soothe them to rest ; 
Hush their complainings thy silence below, 
Cover them, hide them, O beautiful snow ! 



CHAPTER XIII 
Accent 

Accent has its origin in the natural flow of rhythm. 
In the discussion of rhythm we learned that it is 
a natural movement. Accent is that ictus of the 
voice which marks the prominent syllables in spoken 
language. Every word not a monosyllable has an 
accent. 

Nature is constantly exerting itself in arsis and ictus, 
or rhythmical force. It is not an even effort. Note the 
planets in their orbits, a storm in its course, water in 
its rush. At times they relent, then they strike with 
fury, or increased force. 

Accent is defined as a stress of voice on one syllable 
of a word more than on another, but seldom is there 
a reason given for this in books. After a careful con- 
sideration of the subject, I find four reasons for accent, 
but only two of any real importance. Years ago there 
were three. 

The first reason is a natural one as noted above ; the 
remaining three are artificial. 

The natural reason for accent is the natural move- 
ment of the voice in rhythms. This natural accent 
need not be especially learned, as it comes as an ele- 

i53 



154 ACCENT 

ment of movement in speech. Without this natural 
accent the tones would be monotonous and, so, un- 
pleasant. 

The second reason for accent on a word was agreed 
upon by linguists to mark the root of the word. This 
we may term the Radical \ or Root, or Primary Accent. 
This was purely dictatorial. The philologist wanted the 
root of the word apparent. While this was convenient 
for linguistic study, in words with several affixes it very 
often rendered the pronunciation difficult. So the "com- 
mon " people, who had no interest in these root distinc- 
tions, pronounced the words, giving the accent that was 
natural, and hence easy to utter. As the common 
people in time usually win, so they did here, and the 
desire of the scholar has been so completely ignored 
that this accent distinction is of very little consequence, 
and scarcely worth the effort made to teach it. This 
Radical or Primary Accent is still retained as the 
principal accent, whether it occurs on the root of the 
word or not. It is made by the most forcible stress 
of the voice when uttering the word, and is indicated 
by an oblique mark, thus ('), over the accented syllable. 

A third use or reason for accent is to indicate the 
meaning of certain words. There are about eighty-five 
words in the English language that are used to repre- 
sent entirely different meanings by the simple change of 
accent. They are classed as nouns, or adjectives, or 
verbs. The following are a few : con'summate, con- 
sum' mate ; gal'lant, gallant' ; Au'gust, august' ; con' vert, 



ACCENT 155 

convert 1 ; per' feet, perfect 1 ; con 1 tract, contract 1 ; detail, 
detail' ; survey, survey' ; ex' He, exile' ; min'ute, minute' ; 
perfume, perfume'. 

This use of the accent is very limited, and so of 
little importance, since the context will determine the 
meaning of the word. 

The fourth reason or use for the accent is to mark 
stress syllables in metrical literature. In scanning, 
the syllable is termed the accented syllable. This is 
the natural rhythm of language, arranged so the ac- 
cented syllable comes at regular stated intervals. For 
the mastery of this use of accent, the student must 
make a careful study of verse. 

The accented syllable of meter is the long syllable, 
or, if perfectly constructed, the syllable that contains 
the open or long vocal. However, in English verse this 
open or long vocal syllable is not always accurately con- 
structed with an open vocal, and so the metrical stress 
is marked by accent. The following are the metrical 
formulas of English verse with their respective names. 
The student will observe that three of the feet are 
dissyllabic and three trisyllabic. These accent adjust- 
ments are called the Poetic Rhythms. 

The straight mark, or macron, marks the accented 
syllable, and the curved mark, or breve, the unaccented 
syllable. The perpendicular line shows the division of 
the verse into feet. The accented syllable corresponds 
with the long syllable, and the unaccented is identical 
with the short syllable. 



156 ACCENT 



TROCHEE, OR TROCHAIC VERSE 

u I \J \ — w|_w I 



\J 



_ KJ I _ \J I _ \J I 



IAMBUS, OR IAMBIC VERSE 

u _ I u _. I u _ I w _ I 
\J \ \J \ \J I w I 

This foot is the basis of the heroic couplet and also 
of English blank verse. 

SPONDEE, OR SPONDAIC VERSE 

I I - - I 

__ I __ I __ I 



Spondaic feet are seldom successive. In dactylic 
hexameter, the final foot is always a Spondee. 

DACTYL, OR DACTYLIC VERSE 

ww| ww| ww| 

— v^wl — ww| — ww| 

ANAPEST, OR ANAPESTIC VERSE 

WV_/ I \J \J I \J \J I 

\J \J I \J \J I \J \J — I 

This is a reversed Dactyl. 



AMPHIBRACH, OR AMPHIBRACHIC VERSE 

KJ U I U _ U ] W w|w w| 

\j w|w \J \ \J — u I U \J I 



ACCENT 157 

The following excerpts are examples of the applica- 
tion of these poetic accents : — 

TROCHEE 

Sing-ing I through the | for-est | 

Rat-tling I 6-ver | rid-ges | 

Shoot-ing I un-der | arch-es | 

Rum-bling | 6-ver | bridg-es | 

Whlz-zTng I through the | moun-tains | 

Buz-zTng I o'er the | vale | 

Bless me | this is | pleas-ant | 

Rid-ing I on a. I rail | — John G. Saxe. 

IAMBUS 

We live | in deeds | not years | 

In thoughts I not breaths | 

In feel- | ings, not | in fig- | ures on | a. dial | 

We should | count time | by heart | throbs. He | most lives | 

Who thinks | most feels | the no- | blest, acts | the best | 

— Bailey. 
Thou too I sail on | O ship | of state | 
Sail on | O Un | ion strong | and great | 
Hu man | 1 ty | with all | its fears | 
WTth all I the hope | of fut | ure years | 
Is hang I ing breath | less on | thy fate | 

— Longfellow. 

SPONDEE 

Oh that this | too too \ sol id flesh. — Shakespeare. 

Fare-well I a long | fare-well | to all | my great ness | 

— Shakespeare, Henry VIII. 

Rocks, caves I lakes, fens \ bogs, dens | and shades | of death | 



158 ACCENT 



DACTYL 

Mer-ri-ly | mer-ri-ly | shall I live | now | 

Un-der the | blos-som that | hangs on the | bough | 

— Shakespeare. 
Per-ish-ing | gloom-I-ly 

Spurred by con | tii-me-ly | 

Cold in hu I man-T-ty | 

Burn-ing in | san-i-ty | 

In to her | rest. — Thomas Hood. 

ANAPEST 

The As-syr | ian came down | like a wolf | on the fold | 
And his co | horts were gleam | ing in pur | pie and gold | 
And the she~en | of his spears | was like stars | on the sea I 
When the blue | wave rolls night | ly, on deep | Gal-T-lee | 

— Byron . 

You have heard | said a youth | to his sweet | heart who stood | 
While he sat | on a corn I sheaf at day I light's de-cline | 
You have heard | of the Dan | ish boy's whist | le of wood | 
And I wish | that that Dan | ish boy"s whist | le was mine | . 

AMPHIBRACH 

How dear to | my heart are | the scenes of | my child-hood | 
When fond re I col-lect-ions | pre-sent them | to view | 
The 6r-chard | the mead-6w | the deep tangl | ed wild-wood | 
And ev-ery I loved spot that | my in-fan | cy knew | 

— Woodworth. 

In slum-bers | of mid-night | the sai-lor | boy lay | 
His ham-mock | swung loose at I the sport of | the wind | 
But watch-worn | and wea-ry | his cares flew | away | 
And vis-ions | of hap-pi | ness danced o'er | his mind I 

— Dimond. 



ACCENT 159 

These different arrangements of accent in poetic feet 
are somewhat suggestive of certain kinds of emotion. 
It will be observed by examination of poetic literature 
that the Trochaic foot fits naturally to emotions of Pleas- 
tire, Cheerfulness, and Sprightliness. The Iambic foot 
naturally expresses Firmness, Dignity, Sedateness, and 
Gravity. The Spondaic foot suggests Determination, 
Resolution, and Decision. 

The Dactylic foot belongs to that poetry that ex- 
presses Pleasure, Gayety, Vivacity, and Nimbleness. 

The Anapestic foot has a natural animated sweep, and 
expresses Activity, Buoyancy, Alertness, and Alacrity. 

The Amphibrachic foot has an Elevating, Ennobling, 
Inspiring, and Enrapturing quality in its expression. 

While it is true that many poems are written which 
do not have these emotional influences and yet have the 
metrical foot as indicated, this does not argue against 
these foot and emotional associations. Such poems lack 
affinity in thought and poetic movement, and they do 
not cling to us as those that have this affinity. The 
student should now search in literature for these ele- 
ments of literary expression, and practice faithfully the 
poems, committing some so as to absorb these movements 
of language. This will have a pleasing effect on the 
movements of the voice, that will enrich the conversation 
as well as give more animated speech. These move- 
ments must be faithfully drilled into the language habits. 

A more practical application of Accent is to be found 
in the chapter on "Rhythm." 



CHAPTER XIV 
Rhythm 

The ability of man to produce sound is natural. His 
power to grasp single tones is likewise a gift of nature. 
The association of these sound groups, which is called 
speech, to represent certain objects or actions, is artifi- 
cial. To illustrate : in English the little sound group, 
door, is used to represent an opening ; in German the 
sound group for the same thing is represented by thiir, 
in Anglo-Saxon it is d?im t in Latin fores. The manner 
of this association is man's own invention, it is artificial. 
The single tones that compose these groups are not of 
the same duration. The difference in duration is due 
to man's natural manipulation of the natural laws of 
speech. A person left wholly to himself will, under 
natural impulses, develop a speech. 

The study of Rhythm is the study of the length of 
these single impulses of sound. 

Rhythm, Meter, and Stress are often confused by 
students studying the Speech Arts, and even by writers 
on these subjects. Let me try to illustrate the differ- 
ences of these terms. If you will take a hammer, hold- 
ing the handle very loosely in the hand, and then drop 

1 60 



RHYTHM l6l 

the hammer on an anvil or hard stone, you will observe 
four things. First, the hammer will rebound. Second, 
it will rebound a certain number of times, the number 
of times depending on the distance you let the ham- 
mer fall. Third, each rebound will diminish in force. 
Fourth, the time will be shortened between each re- 
bound. Now, the rebounding and the shortening of 
the time between each rebound constitutes Rhythm. 
The rebounding a certain number of times with each 
drop is Meter. The diminishing in force of each re- 
bound is Stress. 

Thus we see that Rhythm is a movement of nature. 
This movement is seen in the rippling waters, the sway- 
ing bough, the swinging pendulum, the nodding flower, 
the rolling waves, the flying bird, and the leaping ani- 
mal. It is heard in the chirp of the cricket, the song of 
the bird, the roll of the thunder, the whir of machinery, 
the laughter of the child, the song of the maiden, the 
speech of the orator. As the child develops and sen- 
sation begins to control its activities, Rhythm manifests 
itself as a Mental Movement. This Mental Movement 
is the result of the influence of our emotional nature 
upon our mental activities, and is made apparent in 
speech by the length of the vocal element. Rhythm is 
most influential in poetic language, because the effect 
in poetry is made more vital by the mechanical arrange- 
ments of the open and close vocal elements into poetic 
feet or Meters. Rhythm is in prose as well as in 
poetry, but is not so prominent because of the lack of 



1 62 RHYTHM 

metrical arrangement. Victor Hugo says, " There is 
no prose in English," and he is right. All persons natu- 
rally have Rhythm in their speech, and it is very promi- 
nent in childhood. But some lose it almost altogether, 
either because of environment, or carelessness in speech, 
or educational training. This rhythmical movement is 
so natural that in joy we involuntarily laugh and sing and 
move in rhythms. We learn from Plutarch that in his 
time all teaching and the learning of numbers was in 
rhythms. Most children will remember the multiplica- 
tion table more readily if taught it rhythmically. 

All truly great orators have this Rhythm in their 
speech. Some have kept it from childhood, others who 
lost much of it have attained it again with comparative 
ease, while still others have had to labor long and hard 
to regain it. When this is one of the elements that 
makes the pleasing speaker and conversationalist, and 
when speech is such an important factor in this coun- 
try's welfare, it is unfortunate, indeed, that so many 
teachers in our schools seemingly do all in their power 
to knock the Rhythm out of the child's speech. Persons 
who possess this potent speech element without any 
apparent effort are said to be born orators, they speak 
so fluently. But, like music, to some it comes easily, 
while others acquire it only after persistent study and 
practice. 

Coming under natural law, Rhythm belongs to all 
languages, not to English alone, and is due to the fact 
that elementary sounds are not of the same prolonga- 



RHYTHM 163 

tion when marking the mental action. We have long 
and short vocal elementary sounds in proportion as the 
organs of articulation may be widely separated in the 
production of the elements as they are being grouped. 
Any vocal element may be prolonged indefinitely, hit its 
length is determined when it is being associated with 
others so as to form speech. 

Consonants are long and short in proportion as the 
organs of articulation are in loose contact or pinched 
together. Thus we have two general classes of speech 
elements : the first we may call vocals or long elements ; 
and the second, articulates or short elements. Keeping 
in mind the organs of speech, it is better to think of the 
vocals as open elements and the articulates or consonants 
as close elements ; because the organs of speech are 
open or close when making the element. 

Then, again, the vocals are divided into long and 
short elements, or open and close sounds; and the artic- 
ulates or consonants are divided into long and short 
elements or open and close sounds. The following 
table will show the classification of the open and close 
elements. The elements, as noted above, do not have 
the same length ; it is doubtful if any two of the whole 
number have the same duration when grouped with 
others for speech in an easy natural way. 

An element belongs to the open class when there is 
a strong tendency to separate the organs more widely 
in producing the sound strongly; and an element be- 
longs to the close group when the organs stand firm or 



164 



RHYTHM 



contract to close the mouth when the element is made 
or emphasized. 

Table of Vocal Elements 



Open or Prolonged Vocal 


Close or Shortened Vocal 


Elements 






Elements 


3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3. 






e, e, e. 


6, 6, 0, 1. 






1, u, u, u, u, u. 


aa, ae, ai, ao, au. 






ea, where the 3 has lost en- 


ee, ea, ei, eo, eu. 






tirely its own sound. 


ii, i3, ie, io, iu. 








00, oa, oe, oi, ou, 


ow, 


oy. 




uu, ua, ue, ui, uo. 









Table of Articulates or Consonants 



Open or Prolonged Articulates 



r, w, y, 1, ra, n, ng, v, z. 



Close or Shortened Articulates 



b, d, f, g, j, s, th ; subvocal y 
zh, wh, ch, th ; aspirant, sh, 
k, t, p. 



These tables do not include any substitutes, as a sub- 
stitute is clothed with all the power of the letter it repre- 
sents. Also, c is omitted, as its sounds are represented 
by k and s ; and q is omitted, as it is always joined with 
u and the two are represented by kw\ and x has its 
equivalent in eks\ h has no place in the tables because 
it cannot be given separate from the vowel following, 



RHYTHM 165 

and its office is merely to cover the following vocal with 
breath. 

K, t, p, of the list, are nonvocals ; that is, they have no 
sound. See chapter on " Articulation." 

Rhythm is one of the " powers of speech " of which 
the listener feels the influence, but unless he is some- 
what learned in the elements of speech he will not be 
able to point it out. It gives a magnetism and a charm 
of such subtle persuasion that the auditor is compelled 
to listen. 

Teachers and public speakers and persons who wish 
to excel in address and conversation should carefully 
cultivate this rhythmical speech. In order to educate 
oneself in this language element, the student must first 
know how to make the elementary sounds organically 
accurate, and for this the student is referred to the 
chapter on "Articulation." Few persons can describe 
at once how an element is made organically. Neither is 
it easily done. It can be learned only by introspective 
study. After the student has studied and carefully 
practiced the manner of making the elementary sounds 
as described in the chapter on " Articulation," then he 
should study and drill on the following exercises. 

First. Pronounce the sentences very slowly several 
times, being sure that each element of each word is accu- 
rately and clearly made. Do not hurry. 

After the sentence can slowly be pronounced per- 
fectly, then increase the rate, reading it again and 
again until the proper rate is reached. 



1 66 RHYTHM 

(a) Rate is gesture. 

(J>) To express thought, gesture is necessary. 

(V) Emphasis is gesture. 

{d) Gesture is emphasis. 

(e) The perfections of nature hide themselves behind the 
veil of modesty. 

(/) A natural speaker is not ignorant. 

(g) He who struggles to be natural without study, scholar- 
ship, and practice in harmony with nature's laws, will be most 
artificial. 

{h) " 'Tis a point I long to know, 

Oft it causes anxious thought ; 

Do I love the Lord or no ? 

Am I His or am I not ? " — Newton. 

(i) " I heard the voice of Jesus say, 

' I am the dark world's light ; 
Look unto Me, thy morn shall rise, 
And all thy days be bright.' " — Horatius Bonar. 

Any literary production may be used as a study and 
for practice in Articulation. 



CHAPTER XV 
Stress and Force 

Stress is force in Articulation and hence closely 
associated with it. It is the principal factor in Accent 
and is the important element in Emphasis. 

Unless the vocal elements have their proportionate 
Stress, some parts of the speech elements will be indis- 
tinct, and pronunciation will be unintelligible. Because 
the elements of speech do not have the same pitch (see 
chapter on " Pitch "), some cease to be heard sooner than 
others. If the proper proportion of Stress is not ob- 
served, some elements of the words and sentences will 
be lost altogether. 

This element of speech, properly observed, gives the 
clear, distinct utterance. To acquire it, every letter, with 
its various sounds, where there is more than one, should 
be carefully practiced. 

Stress is usually applied to parts of words, and here 
is where it becomes Accent, and grows into Emphasis. 
It is given different names under Accent, which are the 
result of its location on the word, and are practically 
three in number. 

Radical Stress is the principal force applied at the 

167 



1 68 STRESS AND FORCE 

beginning or initial part of a sound, or a syllable, or a 
word, or a sentence. 

Median Stress, or Middle Stress, is the principal force 
of the voice applied at or near the middle of a sound, or 
a syllable, or a word, or a sentence. 

Terminal Stress is where the principal force falls on 
or near the end of a sound, or a syllable, or a word, or 
a sentence. 

Sentence is usually excluded from Stress and included 
under Climax, but Climax means more than one word or 
sentence ; and often this Terminal Stress is on a single 
sentence. 

Some writers speak of a Thorough Stress, but this is 
only sustained Stress, throughout the sound, or syllable, 
or word, or sentence. Also they have a. Compound 
Stress, but, as the term indicates, this is only a union of 
the Radical and Terminal Stress. Then there is the 
Tremulo Stress, which is only the quavering of the 
Thorough Stress. To make subdivisions when they are 
only variations is confusing to the student. 

Force, which is a component part of Stress, has many 
degrees of intensity. The Force of the Stress must be 
determined by the kind of thought. For example, lan- 
guage whose thought shows strong determination will 
have either Radical or Terminal Stress, or may have 
both, predominating. Radical Stress shows decision 
and intellectuality, and is used in positive narrative, 
courageous, and instructive style of speech. If the 
lauguage shows the thought to be pathos, emotion, 



STRESS AND FORCE 1 69 

grandeur, melancholy, the prevailing Stress will be the 
Median. 

Terminal Stress has for its thought contempt, revenge, 
strong determination, command, astonishment, horror. 

To develop the expression of the stresses, the student 
should practice for many weeks the following exercises. 
Most speeches, if long, may contain Radical, and 
Median, and Terminal Stress. 

In the application of Stress, do not think the tones 
must all be loud. Stress is to be applied to the soft 
tones as well. 

EXAMPLES FOR PRACTICE 

" Hath a dog money ? Is it possible 
A cur can lend three thousand ducats ? Or, 
Shall I bend low, and in a bondman's key, 
With 'bated breath and whispering humbleness, 
Say this, — 

Fair sir, you spit on me on Wednesday last ; 
You spurned me such a day ; another time 
You called me dog ; and for these courtesies 
I'll lend you thus much moneys ? " 

— Merchant of Venice. 

" Down, ruthless insulter." 

" Now die, base wretch ! 
Never again, by the all-righteous 
Lord, shalt thou with life 
Escape this trusty sword ! 
Revenge is sweet ! " -— E. C. Donnelly. 



170 STRESS AND FORCE 

" 0, that this too, too solid flesh would melt, 
Thaw, and resolve itself into a dew ! 
Or, that the Everlasting had not fixed 
His canon 'gainst self-slaughter ! " — Shakespeare. 

" The bright moon rose over the mighty city, tipping with 
silver the domes of more than two hundred churches, and pour- 
ing a flood of light over a thousand palaces and the dwellings 
of three hundred thousand inhabitants. The weary army sank 
to rest, but there was no sleep for Mortier's eyes." 

— J. T. Headley. 
"'This to Me!' he said, — 
' An 'twere not for thy hoary beard, 
Such hand as Marmion's had not spared 
To cleave the Douglas' head ! 
And, first, I tell thee, haughty peer, 
He who does England's message here, 
Although the meanest in her state, 
May well, proud Angus, be thy mate.' " 

— Sir Walter Scott. 
" I've scared ye in the city, 
I've scalped ye on the plain ; 
Go, count your chosen where they fell 
Beneath my leaden rain ; 
I scorn your proffered treaty, 
The paleface I defy, 9 

Revenge is stamped upon my spear, 
And blood my battle cry." — G. W. Patten. 



CHAPTER XVI 
Pronunciation 

Some one has said, "Speak, that I may know thee." 
Accurate pronunciation is an unknown art with many 
people, and there are no classes of individuals to be 
excepted. The leaders of education come in for their 
share of adverse criticism. I once listened to a college 
president, a man of enviable reputation, and in a speech 
of about twenty-five minutes he mispronounced over 
twenty words. At another time I listened to an educa- 
tor, a Ph.D. graduate, and the author of a work on phi- 
lology which was accepted and published by a leading 
publishing house ; and this man in a speech of about 
thirty minutes blundered on the pronunciation of over 
forty words. I have heard recitations, conducted by 
teachers, most of whom were college-trained, in scores 
of leading high schools and colleges, and in these recita- 
tions many of the most common words were mispro- 
nounced by both teacher and pupils. This kind of 
English teaching will not be likely to produce accurate 
users of the English language ; and certainly, accuracy 
is important. 

Because the English language is a living language, 
and on this account constantly changing in many of its 

171 



1 72 PR ON UNCI A TION 

details, it is important that the student be ever on the 
qui vive for changes which are constantly taking place. 
The successful student must have ever at his elbow an 
unabridged dictionary of accepted authority, which he 
must consult constantly. A good dictionary is indis- 
pensable in the student's library. If he would be 
a scholar, he cannot afford to be without one. It is 
painful to listen to 'a speaker, a leader, incorrectly pro- 
nouncing words in common use. When a pronunciation 
is once learned, it is not easy to change it. Hence it is 
very important that the first learning shall be correct. 
For this reason teachers in the common schools and 
professors in the colleges should assiduously guard the 
pronunciation of students. The lack of good pronuncia- 
tion has cost many a person a position of worth, influ- 
ence, and honor. 

It is not my purpose to give rules here for pronuncia- 
tion, but, rather, to emphasize the importance of giving 
more careful attention to this study, and to suggest a 
few helps for the student. 

Suggestive Study Helps 

First. — Learn carefully and accurately the diacritical 
marks. They are the keys that unlock the pronuncia- 
tion as given in the dictionary. Without this knowledge 
the dictionary is a sealed book. The diacritics are 
omitted from this volume because they are to be found 
in every good dictionary. 



PR O NUN CIA TION 1 7 3 

Second. — Drill very carefully and long on the organic 
positions for articulation as described in this book in the 
chapter on " Articulation." 

Third. — Give careful attention to the syllabizing. 
This is a subject to which many teachers give no atten- 
tion ; and it is a very grievous error in the student's 
training. It is most commendable for good pronuncia- 
tion to have the pupil pronounce every syllable in oral 
spelling. The argument that it is a loss of time to do 
this is not compatible when the damage caused by its 
omission is considered. 

Fourth. — Carry in your pocket a small notebook ; 
and put in it every word you hear pronounced differently 
from your pronunciation, marking the word diacritically 
as you heard it pronounced, and as soon as possible con- 
sult the dictionary to see which is correct. It is not 
safe to accept any person as authority, when he is 
speaking. 

Fifth. — Avoid adopting fads. They are short-lived 
and usually nonsensical. 

A few years ago one of Longfellow's relatives said the 
poet wanted the name of the hero of his Indian legend- 
ary poem pronounced as if spelled Heawatha, instead of 
Hiawatha. Some adopted the fad and even went so far 
as to teach it in the schools when the standard diction- 
aries on pronunciation were opposed to substituting e 
for i. Had these same teachers been as enthusiastic in 
noting the pronunciation of other words, they would have 
done real good. Even should they succeed in getting 



1 74 PR ON UNCI A TION 

the pronunciation universal enough to influence the 
lexicographer to change his view, nothing of importance 
has been accomplished. Some singers were very quick 
to take up the change, e for z, which has the effect of 
a close syllable instead of an open syllable. This threw 
the syllable to the front part of the mouth and closed 
the mouth, and made a sharp head tone of the syllable. 
Before it was a middle mellow tone and more musical 
and pleasing, and easier to utter. There are other words 
that have suffered a detrimental change in pronuncia- 
tion. "Hiawatha" is spoken of here only as an exam- 
ple. The thought, however, for the student is, avoid 
fads in pronunciation ; you are always judged by the 
standards as set forth in the dictionaries. Pronuncia- 
tions should not be changed unless it is to harmonize 
the word with scientific principles or improve the ease 
or beauty of speech. 



CHAPTER XVII 

Enunciation 

Enunciation (from e, out, and nuntius, a messenger) 
is the mode of uttering a word or a sentence with 
regard to the inflection and tone of voice necessary to 
suggest the thought, and to give correct pronunciation. 

" A perfect enunciation consists in the accurate formation of 
the sounds of the letters by right motions and positions of the 
organs, accompanied by a proper degree of energy to impress 
those elements fully and distinctly on the ear; and the act of 
combining and linking those together so as to form them into 
words capable of being again combined into clauses and sen- 
tences, for the full conveyance of our ideas and determinations." 

— B?'onson. 

It is apparent that Enunciation is a broad term. It 
comprises some of Articulation, Pronunciation, and 
Modulation. It also has to do with Voice and even 
with gesture, as shown by this passage from Channing : 

"To enunciate with a voice of thunder and vehement gestures 
a cold discourse, is to make it colder still." 

If the student will develop the elements of expression 
and then combine them into perfect speech, he will 
possess the required Enunciation. 

J 75 



1 76 ENUNCIA TION 

Besides this accuracy in uttering the elementary 
sounds of speech, there is another element that enters 
into Enunciation ; that is, " tone color." 

Tone color deals with the emotions. The low chest 
tones, or voce de petto, express the feelings of the heart, 
or inmost feeling. The tone color is somber ; that is, a 
yellow-crimson. The tone is sad, doleful. 

Above this chest tone is the common or middle voice. 
This tone expresses cheerfulness, mirth, joy, liveliness, 
and the color is red ; and as the emotions vary in their 
intensity, so will the color vary in its shadings. A 
blind man was once asked what was his idea of scarlet, 
and he replied that it was like the tone of a trumpet. 

As color is revealed to us through the eye by certain 
numbers of vibrations, so the sensations of vibration 
through the ear of the blind man would give him color. 
The ear is even more delicate an organ than the eye. 
For this reason certain enunciated sounds affect us. 
Martial music enunciated in the key of D stirs our 
fighting blood, and makes the war horse champ his bit. 
Strains enunciated in E minor make us sad and sor- 
rowful. Certain colors spread before us have similar 
effects. The blind man was no doubt right. He heard 
the color. 

Since color and sound have such a close affinity, and 
have a very great effect on the individual, it is quite 
important that the speech be enunciated in the proper 
tone of voice. 

Above this common voice is the head tone, or voce de 



EN UN CI A TION 1 7 7 

testa. These tones are formed at the highest point of 
the vocal apparatus. As the chest tones are called the 
language of the heart, because they seem to spring 
from that region, so the head tones, or falsetto, may be 
termed the tones of deception. They show insincerity, 
deceit, feigning. 

These elements of enunciation are some of the powers 
of speech that many persons cannot describe, and yet 
they have a very decided effect on the auditor. 

The student should analyze a number of literary pro- 
ductions and determine to which class the several parts 
belong. 

It will be good drill to analyze such speeches as are 
made by Shylock, Iago, Othello, Cassius, Portia, and the 
leading characters in King Lear. 



CHAPTER XVIII 
Quantity or Time 

Quantity relates to the time consumed in speaking 
the elementary sounds when combined to form words. 

There are two classes, Long Quantity and Short 
Quantity. 

While this time element is noticeable in all the sound 
elements, it is more prominent in the vocals and open 
consonants, and is most apparent in the open vocals. 

Quantity is a very strong factor in pleasing speech. 
It makes one of the prominent differences in a magnetic 
and a nonmagnetic utterance. While the underlying 
principle is natural, its modification is effected through 
the Emotional nature. 

Long Quantity is used in Deep Pathos, Reverence, 
the Sublime, the Beautiful. 

The Short Quantity is used in Impetuous Anger, 
Sudden Grief, Excitement, Triviality. 

About the only attention given to Quantity by the 
rhetorician is in poetry, because Quantity deals with the 
Open and Close tones of speech and is a fundamental 
part of rhythm. When the single elements of Quantity 
are grouped in regular numbers and kinds, we get a 
measure of speech, and several of these measures con- 

178 



QUANTITY OR TIME 1 79 

stitute Meter. These single groups of Quantity are 
called, in rhetoric, feet, of which the following are the 
names : Iambus, Trochee, Spondee, Anapest, Dactyl, 
Pyrrhic, and Amphibrach. For a complete discussion 
of feet, see under Accent. 

In choosing words to express thought, those should 
be selected that most fully express the emotion of the 
thought. For dignity, beauty, sublimity, and reverence, 
the rate is slow, and the vocal elements chosen should 
be the round, open tones. In conversation and descrip- 
tion these classes of tone will intermingle. In excite- 
ment, petulancy, and impatience, the time is fast and 
the quantity short, and the words chosen should be the 
close tone elements. I know this is not always observed, 
but it should be. If it were, much that is written to 
be spoken would live longer. This same law should 
be observed by the musician when setting music to 
words. Study this affinity in the songs that have 
lived. 

Now in the best of prose speech we have these same 
elements of rhythm and meter, only in less regular order. 
Sometimes the best conversationalists, and the best ora- 
tors, when using the most effective language, will use 
a style of speech that is quite poetic in its form. This 
should be the ideal to be attained in all speech culture. 
The following are examples for practice, also some 
prose poems. The student should make a careful study 
of them, pointing out the different feet and meters. 
The English language is very susceptible of this poetic 



180 QUANTITY OR TIME 

style, so much so that Victor Hugo says the English 
has no prose language. 

EXAMPLES 



Pathos. 



It c 



Farewell ! ' said he^ ' Minnehaha ! 
Farewell, O my Laughing Water ! 
All my heart is buried with you, 
All my thoughts go onward with you ! 
Come not back again to labor, 
Come not back again to suffer, 
Where the Famine and the Fever 
Wear the heart and waste the body. 
Soon my task will be completed, 
Soon your footsteps I shall follow 
To the Islands of the Blessed, 
To the Kingdom of Ponemah, 
To the Land of the Hereafter ! '" — Longfellow. 



Solemnity. 



" O God ! this is a holy hour ; 
Thy breath is o'er the land ; 
I feel it in each little flower 
Around me where I stand — 
In all the moonshine scattered fair, 
Above, below me, everywhere, — 
In every dew-bead's glistening sheen, 
In every leaf and blade of green, — 
And in this silence grand and deep 
Wherein thy blessed creatures sleep." 

— William Motherwell. 



QUANTITY OR TIME l8"l 

Beautiful and Sublime. 

" Over his keys the musing organist, 
Beginning doubtfully and far away, 
First lets his fingers wander as they list, 
And builds a bridge from Dreamland for his lay : 
Then, as the touch of his loved instrument 
Gives hope and fervor, nearer draws his theme, 
First guessed by faint auroral flushes sent, 
Along the wavering vista of his dream." — Lowell 

Prose-Poetry. 

" The palaces and domes of Carthage were burning in the 
splendor of noon. The blue waves of her harbor were rolling 
and gleaming in the gorgeous sunlight. An attentive ear could 
catch a low murmur sounding from the center of the city, 
which seemed as the moaning of the wind before a tempest. 
And well it might ; for the whole people of Carthage, startled, 
astounded by the report that Regulus had returned, were 
pouring a mighty tide into the great square before the senate 
house." — Kellogg. 

" Mankind are toiling for a deathless name. Various are 
the schemes devised and the plans pursued to gain this one 
world-sought end ; to rear a pyramid that shall not decay, but 
grow broader and higher with the roll of ages. This is the 
nucleus of the world of thought. At its altar are immolated 
the smile, and the tear ; the swell of delight, the revenging 
throb, the sweets of duty, the joys of life, and the hopes of 
heaven. No hardships, nor privations, nor sacrifices, but here 
are freely shrined. Eating the bread of sorrow or drinking the 
tears of mourning, the individual world eagerly pursues the 



1 82 QUANTITY OR TIME 

phantom of hope till death stops the chase and rolls them into 
the tomb." — Barties. 

EXAMPLES FOR PRACTICE OF SHORT QUANTITY 

"Ye gods ! it doth amaze me a man of such feeble temper 
should so get the start of the majestic world and bear the palm 
alone." — Shakespeare. 

" I, an itching palm. You know you are Brutus that says 
this; or, by the gods, this speech were else your last." 

— Shakespeare. 

In the above extracts from Julius Caesar, Cassius is 
very angry. He bites off the words as it were. 

SPARTACUS TO THE GLADIATORS 

"Ye call me chief; and ye do well to call him chief who, 
for twelve long years, has met upon the arena every shape of 
man or beast the broad empire of Rome could furnish, and who 
never yet lowered his arm. If there be one among you who 
can say that ever, in public fight or private brawl, my actions 
did belie my tongue, let him stand forth and say it. If there 
be three in all your company dare face me on the bloody sands, 
let them come on. And yet I was not always thus, — a hired 
butcher, a savage chief of still more savage men ! My ances- 
tors came from old Sparta, and settled among the vine-clad 
rocks and citron groves of Syrasella. My early life ran quiet as 
the brooks by which I sported ; and when at noon I gathered 
the sheep beneath the shade, and played upon the shepherd's 
flute, there was a friend, the son of a neighbor, to join me in 
the pastime. We led our flocks to the same pasture, and par- 
took together of our rustic meal. One evening, after the sheep 



QUANTITY OR TIME 1 83 

were folded, and we were all seated beneath the myrtle which 
shaded our cottage, my grandsire, an old man, was telling of 
Marathon and Leuctra, and how, in ancient times, a little band 
of Spartans, in a defile of the mountains, had withstood a whole 
army. I did not then know what war was ; but my cheeks 
burned, I knew not why, and I clasped the knees of that vener- 
able man, until my mother, parting the hair from off my fore- 
head, kissed my throbbing temples and bade me go to rest, 
and think no more of those old tales and savage wars. That 
very night the Romans landed on our coast. I saw the breast 
that had nourished me trampled by the hoof of the war horse, 
and the bleeding body of my father flung amidst the blazing 
rafters of our dwelling ! 

"To-day I killed a man in the arena, and when I broke his 
helmet clasps, behold ! he was my friend. He knew me, smiled 
faintly, gasped, and died ; — the same sweet smile upon his lips 
that I had marked, when, in adventurous boyhood, we scaled 
the lofty cliff to pluck the first ripe grapes, and bear them home 
in childish triumph. I told the praetor that the dead man had 
been my friend, generous and brave, and I begged that I might 
bear away the body, to burn it on a funeral pile, and mourn 
over its ashes. Ay, upon my knees, amid the dust and blood 
of the arena, I begged that poor boon, while all the assembled 
maids and matrons, and the holy virgins they call Vestals, and 
the rabble, shouted in derision, deeming it rare sport, forsooth, 
to see Rome's fiercest gladiator turn pale and tremble at sight 
of that piece of bleeding clay. And the praetor drew back, as 
if I were pollution, and sternly said, ' Let the carrion rot ; there 
are no noble men but Romans.' And so, fellow-gladiators, 
must you, and so must I, die like dogs. O Rome, Rome, thou 
hast been a tender nurse to me. Ay, thou hast given to that 



1 84 QUANTITY OR TIME 

poor, gentle, timid shepherd lad, who never knew a harsher 
tone than a flute-note, muscles of iron and a heart of flint ; 
taught him to drive the sword through plaited mail and links of 
rugged brass, and warm it in the marrow of his foe ; — to gaze 
into the glaring eyeballs of the fierce Numidian lion, even as a 
boy upon a laughing girl. And he shall pay thee back, until 
the yellow Tiber is red as frothing wine, and in its deepest ooze 
thy lifeblood lies curdled. 

" Ye stand here now like giants, as ye are. The strength of 
brass is in your toughened sinews ; but to-morrow some Roman 
Adonis, breathing sweet perfume from his curly locks, shall 
with his lily fingers pat your red brawn, and bet his sesterces 
upon your blood. Hark ! hear ye yon lion roaring in his den? 
'Tis three days since he tasted flesh, but to-morrow he shall 
break his fast upon yours, — and a dainty meal for him ye will 
be ! If ye are beasts, then stand here like fat oxen, waiting 
for the butcher's knife ! If ye are men, — follow me ! Strike 
down yon guard, gain the mountain passes, and there do bloody 
work, as did your sires at old Thermopylae. Is Sparta dead ? 
Is the old Grecian spirit frozen in your veins, that ye do 
crouch and cower like a belabored hound beneath his master's 
lash ! O comrades, warriors, Thracians, — if we must fight, let 
us fight for ourselves ! If we must slaughter, let us slaughter 
our oppressors ! If we must die, let it be under the clear sky, 
by the bright waters, in noble, honorable battle ! " — Kellogg. 

The above production, from the writings of Kellogg, is 
the masterpiece of mob oratory in American literature. 
To delineate this character requires great physical 
strength as well as voice power. To deliver this 
properly, every muscle of the body will have to be stiff 



QUANTITY OR TIME 185 

and rigid, those of the throat held very firm in order to 
get the guttural quality of the voice. Standing in a de- 
fiant attitude with hands clenched, jaw firm, brow knit, 
facial lines drawn sharp, voice rasping and guttural, 
you have the attitude for the proper rendition of this 
production, and it will take weeks of practice to attain 
this degree of control. 

Think of the man having just left the arena, the scene 
of mortal combat. Think that for twelve years he has 
looked upon these cruel, barbarous sports, and that his 
heart in a measure has grown cold, cruel, and indifferent. 
Having killed two men to-day, the second his boyhood 
friend, his better nature revolts against this kind of a 
life. Having disobeyed the command of the authorities, 
he is taken out of the arena and punished so severely 
that the flesh on his body is bruised and cut and bleed- 
ing. Covered with blood and dust, he appears before 
the two hundred other gladiators and delivers this insur- 
rectionary speech. 

The elements of expression to be brought out are 
those of defiance, revenge, hate, remorse, and a longing 
for justice. A student who has learned to deliver this 
production properly will have no trouble with any others 
of a similar character. Practice patiently, persever- 
ingly, and critically, and success will crown your efforts. 
Be sure that you keep a proper proportion, or you will 
pass into the realm of ranting, which would be very 
inartistic. 



CHAPTER XIX 
Climax and Cadence 

Climax (from the Greek word klimax, a ladder, which 
is from klino, a slope) belongs to the speaking rhetoric. 
It is of little, if any, use in language not intended for 
speaking. 

Two or more words, or phrases, or clauses, or sen- 
tences, or paragraphs, may be so arranged as to form 
a climax. While this is the linguistic arrangement of 
the climax, it is of very little consequence unless climac- 
teric expression is used. Frequently in compositions 
splendid climaxes have been arranged, but they are 
dead in the rendition, because they have not been 
vitalized by expression. 

The office of the climax is emphasis. The simplest 
use of the climacteric expression is on the Thought 
Sentence, when a single word is to be emphasized. 
This might be characterized as the slope element of 
climax, there being a single swell of the voice. The 
falling Modulation of the voice after a climax is called 
the Cadence (from the Latin cado, fall). 

The Cadence is introduced here because it is so 
closely connected with climax, and it is much better 

1 86 



CLIMAX AND CADENCE 1 87 

to consider their development together. The short 
cadence corresponds in voice movement to the Falling 
Inflection. They differ only in that cadence is voice 
movement for melody, and inflection deals with the 
thought interpretation. 

In the expression of the Climax the fullest tone of 
the voice is reached on the emphatic word of the 
Thought Sentence and the accented syllable of that 
word. The length of the climacteric approach, as well 
as the length of the Cadence, depends upon the location 
of the Thought Word in the sentence. The following 
sentence will show the climacteric approach to be very 
short, in fact, only the slope of the voice on the letter r\ 



/ Run for your lives, y 



The lines show the swell of the voice in speech. This 
abruptness in the beginning of a sentence is called the 
Abmcpt Open. 

This next sentence will show the Cadence to be very 
short : — 




Here the vocal climax is reached on 0, and the last 
syllable forms the cadence. This is the Abrupt Close 
of speech. If the emphatic word opens the sentence, 
and the accented syllable of that word is the first sylla- 
ble, and the syllable begins with a vocal, there is no 



1 88 CLIMAX AND CADENCE 

climacteric approach other than the swell of the stress 
on the vocal. This is an example : — 



/On, Stanley.X 



If the emphatic word closes the sentence, and the ac- 
cented syllable of the emphatic word is the last syllable, 
and the syllable ends with a vocal, then there is no 
cadence, except the vanish in the voice to close the 
vocal. For example : — 



/\ say I want to go.\ 



The Abrupt Open and the Abrupt Close of speech 
indicate some emotion, but not always, usually that 
of anger. 

When the emphatic word of the Thought Sentence 
comes near the middle of the sentence, then we have 
the climacteric approach or slope, the climax proper, 
and the Cadence. This gives dignity to speech and 
shows emotional balance. Example : — 

/ What is so rare as a day in June ? 



/ Then, if ever, come perfect days. ^> 

These principles of voice movement run through all 
our speech. 



CLIMAX AND CADENCE 1 89 

The following example is a climax of words with a 
cadence : — 

You go, hurry, run, or you will be too late. 

The Climax ends on run, and the Cadence follows to 
the end of the sentence. 

Practice the following : — 

(a) The good, the great, the noble, and the brave, all slum- 
ber here. = = 
(J?) Rise, rise, 'tis Rome demands your help. 



(<r) They mount, they shine, they evaporate, then fall. 



(d) The charge is utterly, totally, and meanly false. 



(e) And nearer, clearer, deadlier than before. 
(/) The scholar, astronomer, poet, orator, patriot, and phi- 
losopher, all have fields, broad, fertile, perennial. 

Examples of phrases and sentences for practice : — 
(a) The hills, rock-ribbed, and ancient as the sun ; the vales, 
stretching in pensive quietness between ; the venerable woods ; 



rivers that move in majesty, and the complaining brooks that 



make the meadows green • and poured around all, old Ocean's 



gray and melancholy waste, are but the solemn decorations all, 



of the great tomb of man. 

(b) " I defy the honorable gentlemen ; I defy the government ; 
I defy the whole phalanx." — Henry Grattan. 



I90 CLIMAX AND CADENCE 

(V) " Caesar had his Brutus, Charles the First his Cromwell, 
and George the Third may profit by their example." 

— Patrick Henry. 

(d) I want free life. And I want fresh air. 
I sigh for the canter after the cattle ; 

And the crack of whips, like shots in battle ; 

The melee of horns and hoofs and heads ; 

That wrangles, and wars, and scatters, and spreads. 

The green beneath, and the blue above ; 

And dash, and danger, and life, and love, and Lasca. 

(e) " As Caesar loved me, I weep for him ; as he was fortunate, 
I rejoice at it ; as he was valiant, I honor him ; but, as he was 



ambitious, I slew him. There is tears for his love ; joy for his 



fortune ; honor for his valor ; and death for his ambition." 



Shakespeare. 



The above is a climax that moves in couplets. 

One of the best examples of the Climax of paragraphs 
is Mark Antony's funeral oration in Shakespeare's 
Julias Ccesar. The following is the climacteric 
paragraph : — 

If you have tears, prepare to shed them now. 

You all do know this mantle : I remember 

The first time ever Caesar put it on ; 

'Twas on a summer's evening, in his tent ; 

That day — he overcame the Nervii — 

Look ! in this place — ran Cassius' dagger through, 

See, what a rent — the envious Casca made : 



\ 



CLIMAX AND CADENCE 191 

Through this, the well- beloved Brutus stabbed, 
And, as he plucked his cursed steal away, 
Mark how the blood of Caesar followed it ! 
This was the most unkindest cut of all ! 



For when the noble Caesar — saw him stab, 

Ingratitude, more strong than traitors' arms, 

Quite vanquished him : then, burst — his mighty heart ; 

And, in his mantle, muffling up his face, 

Even at the base of Pompey's statue, 

(Which all the while ran blood) great Caesar — fell. 

O, what a fall was there, my countrymen ! 

Then I, and you, and all of us — fell down, 

Whilst bloody treason — flourished over us. 

O, now you weep : and, I perceive, you feel 

The dint of pity : these are gracious drops. 

Kind souls ! what, weep you, when you but behold 

Our Caesar's vesture wounded? Look you here ! 

Here — is himself, — marred, as you see, by traitors. 



The number of falling slides that occur in Cadence 
determines whether it is a Monad, a Duad, a Triad, a 
Tetrad, or a Pentad, and so on. 

A Monad is a cadence of one syllable, or unit, after 
the emphatic word, or at the close of the sentence. 

A syllable, or syllable unit, is a group of elementary 
sounds uttered in such rapid succession as to give the 
hearing sensation of a single tone. 

Example. — A strong pull, and a long pull. 

Here are two emphatic words, strong and long. Pull, 
after each, is a Monad. 



192 CLIMAX AND CADENCE 

A Duad is a cadence of two syllables. 
Example. — Away with him. He is a brave soldier. 

In the first example, away is emphatic, and with him 
the duad cadence. In the second, brave is emphatic 
and soldier the duad. 

In a Triad cadence, the falling slide has three 
syllables. 

J EXAMPLES 

(a) Strike for your homes. 

(b) Run for your lives. Fall upon your knees and pray to 
the gods to intermit the plague that needs must light on the 
in-grat-i-tude. 

(c) Up and shout for Rudiger. 

A Tetrad cadence has four syllables in the slide. 

EXAMPLES 

(a) There certainly must be some mis-un-der-stand-ing. 

(b) Oh, what can the matter be, 
Johnny's so long at the fair. 

(c) " Honor and shame from no condition rise ; 

Act well your part : there all the honor lies." — Pope. 

In a Pentad cadence there are five syllables in the 

falling slide. 

EXAMPLES 

(a) He spoke sarcastically. 

(b) " Let me be weighed in an even balance, that God may 
know mine integrity." — Bible, Book of Job. 

The student should point out the cadences in some 
poems. Select any in this book. 



CHAPTER XX 
Melody 

Melody (from the Greek, melos, and ode, a song) 
is a pleasing succession of single tones, and belongs 
primarily to the music of speech. This element of 
vocal expression in speech is frequently confused with 
Modulation. 

Melody is not as broad a term as Modulation. Mel- 
ody deals with the single tones of utterance, while 
Modulation has to do with the groups of single tones. 

The unit of Modulation is the Thought Sentence. 
The unit of Melody is the elemental units of speech. 
First the elementary sounds ; and second the syllables, 
because the syllable when not an elementary sound is a 
number of elementary sounds spoken in such quick suc- 
cession that the ear cannot distinguish the separate 
parts, and the group gives the mental impression of a 
single tone. If the elements of a monosyllable were 
separated so as to be heard separately, there would be 
Melody, but not Modulation. Two monosyllabic words, 
each constituting a Thought Sentence, correctly spoken, 
would be Modulation, and at the same time Melody. 
The different pitches of tone, in a word, as shown by 
Cut 17, Chapter VII, is an example of a Melodic group. 

193 



194 MELODY 

In the grammatic sentence, Now \ go, | we have a simple 
example of Modulation. 

Well-proportioned Melody depends upon a thorough 
mastery of the technique of Articulation, together with 
the skillful choice of words. 

Melody and Modulation are the opposite of Monotony. 

Some words are more melodious than others. For 
example, scratch, thatch, hatch, etc. Such words have 
but little melody because the elements are mostly aspi- 
rate. Again, hum, whirred^ mumble, and buzzer are 
words that have a sameness of vocality and will lack a 
variety of Melody. Such words as melody, denomina- 
tion, enunciation, and masterly have a variety of melodic 
elements and so are more musical when combined in 
speech. This choice of words is most important when 
it is the object of the speaker to express the different 
emotions. The language that belongs to anger is rasp- 
ing and aspirated, that which best expresses pathos is 
composed of words that have subvocality, and the words 
that best express oratorical grandeur are those that have 
the full sweep of subvocality and vocality proportion- 
ately blended. Examples of such words are glorious, 
bcJiold, 7'ising, gilded, omvard, revelry^ corresponding. 
The student should keep in mind that back of these 
words must be the oratorical thought. Words alone 
will not make an orator. A proportionate manipula- 
tion of all these elements of speech marks the trained 
speaker. By their use we are able to determine the 
oratorical scholar and distinguish him from the person 



MELODY 195 

who, for success, trusts to delusive natural ability. If a 
person has been blessed by vitalized ability, we have a 
right to expect great results. And there will be great 
results if the person has been energetic enough to edu- 
cate himself in the work. A lazy man boasts that he 
has had no training. To whom much has been given, 
of him much may consistently be expected. 

A great orator must have all the elements of the 
singer. Musical rendition is much more mechanical 
than oratorical rendition. The musician has rate, 
rhythm, melody, modulation, pitch, stress, accent, em- 
phasis, all arranged beforehand and suggested on the 
paper that contains the music ; and if he sings the pro- 
duction a thousand times he follows the same suggestions, 
as will also others who may sing the same production. 

The orator arranges and executes these elements of 
vocal expression on the spur of the moment. He is 
governed by his thought at the time, by the respon- 
siveness of his audience, by the occasion and the 
environment. He may attempt prearranged pitches, 
rates, modulations, et cetei'a, but they are likely to pre- 
vent a successful speech. What the orator must do is to 
train his mind, voice, and body for instant action. And 
especially must the voice and body respond instantly 
to the impulses of the intellect and will and emotions. 
" Oratory is the greatest of all arts," and he who would 
be the artist must be master of its technique and its 
instant application ; and the technique of Melody is of 
great importance. 



196 MELODY 

To develop melodious enunciation, practice the follow- 
ing exercises and any similar ones you may select. Be 
careful to hold the waist muscles outward so as to keep 
a firm tension on the diaphragm. This will give clear- 
ness to the tone vibrations. . Practice in this way will 
also help to give overtone quality. Repeat each exercise 
often. 

PRACTICE WORK 

" Oh, thou, that rollest above." — Ossian. 

" Oh, the long and dreary winter." 

— Longfellow. 

" O come in life, or come in death ! 
O lost ! my love Elizabeth ! " 

— Jean Ingelow. 

" Judge me, ye gods ! Wrong I mine enemies ? 
And, if not so, how should I wrong a brother? " 

— Shakespeare. 
" At midnight, in his guarded tent, 

The Turk was dreaming of the hour 
When Greece, her knee in suppliance bent, 

Should tremble at his power ; 
In dreams, through camp and court, he bore 
The trophies of a conqueror ; 

In dreams his song of triumph heard ; 
Then wore his monarch's signet ring, 
Then pressed that monarch's throne — a king ; 
As wild his thoughts, and gay of wing, 

As Eden's garden bird." — Halleck. 



MELODY 197 

WHEN THE LEAVES ARE OFF THE TREES 

Loud the call of " southward ho ! " 
Feathered troops, in flocks they go, 
Swallows dipping from the eaves, 
Bare the branches now of leaves, 
Purple carpets, lined with gold, 
Swept in many a shifting fold, 
Woodbine swinging in the breeze, 
" When the leaves are off the trees." 

Country lad, he loves the day, 
When the last leaf blows away, 
Loves the cry of "southward ho ! " 
Minds not, that the song birds go ; 
Cares not, that the golden-rod 
Casts its flame flakes o'er the sod ; 
Coming mirth and joy he sees 
"When the leaves are off the trees." 

Scents the breath of frost and hail, 

Fancies icy coat of mail 

Binding brook and sheathing pond, 

Crystallizing all beyond ; 

Dreams of firs with jewels hung 

Sparkling their green depths among ; 

Ermined all the world he sees 

" When the leaves are off the trees." 

Country lad, all hail ! God speed, 
Up the path where fate may lead, 



198 MELODY 

When the fancies of to-day, 
Like the leaves, have blown away, 
When life's song birds all have flown, 
With the joys that you have known, 

And the snow king's hand has flung 
Frost your clustering locks among, 
May your soul, though tempest-tossed, 
Crystal clear, be white as frost ; 
Then your dreams be sweet as these 
When the leaves are off life's trees. 

— Carabel Lewis Munger* 

THE SOUL OF A BUTTERFLY 

Over the fields where the brown quail whistle, 

Over the fens where the rabbits lie, 
Floats the tremulous down of the thistle, 

Is it the soul of a butterfly? 

See how they scatter and then assemble, 
Filling the air while the blossoms fade — 

Delicate atoms that whirl and tremble 

In the slanting sunlight that skirts the glade. 

— Thomas Wentworth Higginson. 



CHAPTER XXI 
Syllabication 

The natural law of syllabication is to move from the 
close articulates to the open tones. 

If this natural law of speech were closely adhered to 
by linguists, syllabizing would be very easy. In some 
other languages with which the student comes in con- 
tact, notably the Latin and the Greek, it is observed. 
As far as I have been able to perceive, it is practiced in 
all languages in oral speech. 

We find in writing that words are frequently sylla- 
bized according to arbitrary rules which are not at all 
observed when the words are spoken by the writer of 
the same. 

Any difficult combination of the elements is easily 
spoken if the law of syllabication is applied. In mak- 
ing the first attempt to pronounce the following sen- 
tences nearly every person will fail, and yet it is very 
easy if the law is applied. Try it. 

" The sea ceaseth and the wind dismisseth us with its bless- 
tng." 

Speakers who stumble frequently on certain combina- 
tions of letters do so because they do not observe this 

199 



200 SYLLABIC A TION 

natural law. The following sentences, according to the 
dictionary, would be syllabized as follows : — 

At all odds strike at the root of the matter. 

But every person speaking it naturally and without 
effort will syllabize it in the following manner: — 

A-ta(l)-lod(ds)-stri-k(e)a(t)-the-ro-(o)-to-fthe-ma-(t)ter. 

Note. — The vowels are to have the sounds of the first 
sentence in the last sentence, and the parenthesis marks show 
letters that are omitted in oral speech. In words where double 
consonants are found, like matter, planner, robber, the or- 
thoepist says the first letter is sounded and the second silent, 
when in fact exactly the reverse is true. Matter is ma-ter, 
planner is pla-ner, rubber is ru-ber> when speaking. 

When the majority of scholars first read the above state- 
ments they will say at once, if they have not studied these 
things, it is not the case ; but I have observed the speech of 
the ignorant person and of some of the most profound scholars, 
and they all do as above stated when speaking with natural 
ease either sentences or words. This is an observation on this 
part of speech study and a suggestion for the cure of stum- 
bling in articulation. In many schools no attention is given 
to syllabizing. Yet for accurate pronunciation it is of very 
great importance. The sound of many vocal elements depends 
very much upon how it is associated with the consonants. 
For example, the boy who said, " Grammar is divided into four 
parts : or-tho-gra-phy, e-ty-mo-16-gy, syn-tax, and pro-s6-dy," 
followed the natural law of syllabizing and sounded the vowels 
according to this association. 

When he was educated to syllabize according to arbitrary 



S YLLABICA TION 20 1 

rules, the association of vowels and consonants was changed, 
and he had to change the sound of the vocals also ; and he 
would then syllabize " or-thog-ra-phy, et-y-mol-o-gy, syn-tax, 
and pros-o-dy," and he would have short vocals when in the 
first place they were long, the change from the long to short 
being brought about by the difference in the association of the 
vocals because of syllabication. 

A pupil when spelling should at the same time be taught the 
syllabizing. It is of as much importance for the correct pro- 
nunciation of words as it is to know how to spell the words. 
In the humorous example above the boy could spell correctly, 
but he could not pronounce correctly because he could not 
syllabize in harmony with the syllabication given by the linguis- 
tic scholars. If it had not been decided that the latter way 
of pronouncing should be the correct way, the boy's way would 
have been just as good. That pronunciation is not a settled 
fact is easily seen when examining the dictionaries published, 
say, fifteen years apart and noting the changes. 

There is nothing for the pupil to do but to learn the sylla- 
bizing and pronunciation that has been agreed upon as cor- 
rect by the linguists when he is in school, and then in after 
years keep pace with the changes that are made whenever the 
scholars repent of their former decisions. English is a living 
language and so constantly changing. When finding a new 
word, the student should at once refer to the dictionary and 
learn the syllabication and the correct pronunciation. 



CHAPTER XXII 
Gesture Study 

Of all the elements of speech power, gesture is prob- 
ably the most used, the least studied, and the most 
severely criticised. 

Yet the strongest speakers are free to gesticulate, 
and they hold the audience attentive listeners and sway 
them at will, because " Gesture is magnetic, speech is 
not so." 

The adverse criticism to the use of gesture is usually 
made by persons who have studied the subject very 
little, if at all ; and who do not comprehend the princi- 
ples of gesture nor the reasons for gesticulation. Per- 
sons who gesticulate will be more magnetic than those 
who do not. There is an attractiveness in free, easy, 
graceful gestures. Besides, their use will give a free 
circulation of the blood and so quicken the mental ac- 
tivities, and make the voice and body flexible, all of 
which will increase the speaker's magnetism. 

The question is frequently asked, "What is ges- 
ture ? " Certainly it is an expressive element of lan- 
guage. Language is of two kinds, namely, uttered 
sound, or articulate ; and bodily expression, or inarticu- 
late. Broadly speaking, gesture is any variation of these 



GESTURE STUDY 203 

modes of communication in order to give emphasis to the 
expression of thought. This being true, there is no reason 
why the vocal elements which impress thought, such as 
Emphasis, Climax, Cadence, Rate, Force, Inflection, 
Melody, Modulation, Swell, Guttural, and Intonation, 
should not be classed as voice gestures, since they result 
from certain muscular action prompted by thought. 

So considering these elements, gesture is of two 
classes, Voice gesture and Bodily gesture. For the de- 
velopment of Voice gesture, the student is referred to 
the chapters discussing those subjects. Bodily gesture 
here claims our attention. In my teaching and discus- 
sion of the subject of gesture with the objectors to and 
criticisers of gesture work, I have found that about one 
hundred per cent of them constantly confuse gesture 
with movement. 

Gesture is movement, but movement is not always ges- 
ture. A movement becomes a gesture when it expresses 
a distinct thought ; and it is a good gesture when it ex- 
presses the thought in such a way as not to attract 
special attention to itself, and away from the thought. 
Shakespeare puts it nicely when he has Hamlet say, 
" Suit the action to the word, the word to the action ; 
with this special observance, that you o'erstep not the 
modesty of Nature : for anything so overdone is from 
the purpose of playing, whose end, both at the first and 
now, was, and is, to hold, as 'twere, the mirror up to 
Nature." 

Every movement to become a gesture must have a 



204 



GESTURE STUDY 



o^^jgpRoW 



- kA 



7^ 



Z 



stress, or in other words a quick, tense movement of the 
forearm and hand, especially this latter, and this com- 
pleted on the accented or empJiatic word of the Thought 
Sentence. Without this latter stroke there can be no 

gesture of the arm and 
hand ; it will be a move- 
ment. 

Gestures made singly 
have three parts, name- 
ly : first, the movement 
or preparation preced- 
ing this stroke; second, 
this quick or emphasis 
stroke, made and com- 
pleted on the emphatic 
word ; third, the return 
of the hand to the body 
after the preparation 
and stroke. When ges- 
tures are made, one im- 
mediately following the 
other, the return is made 
on the last gesture only, and the gestures, except the 
last one, are composed of the preparatory movement 
and the stroke. See Cut 18. 



NOTE,^-^"'" 

NO'S 2. 3.4. t 5,5 MOW 
THE LINE OF PREPARATION 
FOR THE GE5TURE. 



6. GESTURE PROPER, posr 

7 1 8, THE THIRD PART OF THE 
GE5TURE, OR RETURN MOVEMENT 



THE5E THREE PRINCIPLES ARE 
)H EVERY G.E3TURE, IN WHAT EVER 
MANNE.R IT MAY BE NADE. 




Cut i 5 



Manner of Making the Gesture 

Since gesture is controlled by the thought, the man- 
ner of making the gesture will depend upon the nature 



GESTURE STUDY 205 

of the thought. Here the psycho-physics of the work 
must be kept carefully in mind. Let us first consider 
gesture from the standpoint of 

Like and Dislike 



A person likes a thing or he dislikes it. If he is 
indifferent, he does not like it, hence he dislikes it. If 
he did not dislike it, he would have some interest in it, 
which would be Like. So we either like or dislike. 

Like Gesture or Positive Action 



If a person likes a thing he is attracted to it. He 
looks toward it with pleasure. He moves toward it. 
He stretches his hand toward it with the palm toward 
himself and the back toward the object. Note what 
Casca says in "Julius Caesar": — 

Brutus. Ay, Casca ; tell us what hath chanced to-day, 

That Caesar looks so sad ? 

******* 

Casca. Why, there was a crown offered him ; and being 
offered him, he put it back with the back of his hand, thus ; 
and then the people fell a shouting. 

******* 

Brutus. Was the crown offered him thrice? 

Casca. Ay, marry, was't, and he put it by thrice, every 
time gentler than other ; and at every putting by mine honest 

neighbors shouted. 

******* 

Brutus. Tell us the manner of it, gentle Casca. 
Casca. I can as well be hanged as tell the manner of it ; 
it was mere foolery, I did not mark it. I saw Mark Antony 



206 



GESTURE STUDY 



offer him a crown ; — yet 'twas not a crown neither, 'twas one 
of these coronets ; — and, as I told you, he put it by once ; 
but for all that, to my thinking, he would fain have had it. 
Then he offered it to him again ; then he put it by again ; but 
to my thinking, he was very loath to lay his fingers off it. 

In this scene Shakespeare pictures us a natural action. 
Now, if the person points to the object he likes, the 
palm is up and in- 
clined at an angle 
of about forty-five 
degrees, with the lit- 
tle finger side down. 
See Cut 19. 

In the bodily atti- 
tude of Like the 
shoulders rise, the weight inclines to the forward foot, 
the head and body incline forward. In deepest devo- 
tion the knees bend until the body is in the kneeling 
attitude. The facial expression is that of joy and 
pleasure and approval. 




Dislike Gesture or Negative Action 

In Dislike gesticulation we have the opposite gesture 
movements and attitudes from what we had in Like 
Gesture and Positive Action. 

If a person sees an object or individual he does not 
like, he recedes from it. The head is thrown back, the 
weight of the body is shifted to the back foot or he 



GESTURE STUDY 



207 




moves from it, the palm is turned toward the object. 

If the index position 

of the hand is used, 

the palm is down- 
ward. See Cut 20. 
The face scowls. 

The corners of the 

mouth are drawn 

down. The eyebrows are drawn down and knitted. 

If the hands are at the 
side of the body they are 
clenched. See Cut 21. As 
the resentment becomes 
greater the muscles of the 
body become more tense. 

Besides these specific at- 
titudes there are many 
others, not necessary to 
mention, the body will take. 
For, if the student will 
develop the motor centers 
of his brain to act with the 
impulse of the thought 
powers, and will train his 
muscles to • respond to the 
influence of the motor cen- 
ters, his body will be ex- 
pressive in gesture. The 
gesture is sometimes made 




208 



GESTURE STUDY 



and the voice omitted. Sometimes it may precede the 
vocal utterance. In fact, each individual speaker must, 
to some extent, be a "law unto himself," and choose 
fitting gestures, training himself in the wisdom of choice, 
and be free to exercise this power, just as the writer 
does in his Choice of Words. Man is not a machine. 

In order that the student may possess this activity of 
mind and body, it is necessary that he practice the 
following exercises : — 

Lesson i 



6,8 



In all the following lessons count the positions as i, 2, 3, 4, 
5, 6, 7, 8, each count taking a second of 
time. Stand as in Illustration 22, arms 
folded ; bend the neck, moving the head to 
the right as shown by the position marked 
1 in Cut 22. Now straighten the neck, 
moving the head to position marked 2 ; 
bend it to 3 ; straighten it to 4 ; bend it 
to 5 ; straighten it to 6 ; bend it to 7 ; 
straighten it to 8. Now rest a few seconds. 
Stand as in Illustration 22, arms folded ; 
bend the neck, moving the head to the left, 
until you have the position marked 1 in 
Cut 22. Now straighten the neck to give 
the head the erect position marked 2 ; now 
bend it again to 3 ; straighten it to 4 ; bend 
it again to 5 ; straighten it to 6 ; bend it to 
7 ; straighten it to 8. Now rest for a few 
seconds before beginning the next lesson. 




GESTURE STUDY 



209 



Lesson 2 

Stand as in Cut 23, arms folded. Bend the neck, moving 
the head to the right to position marked 1 ; straighten the 
neck, bringing head to position marked 2 ; bend the neck, 
moving the head to the left to position 3 ; straighten it to 4 ; 
bend it to 5 ; straighten it to 6 ; bend it to 7 ; straighten it 
to 8. Rest a few seconds. 





Cut 23. Cut 24. 

Lesson 3 

Stand as in Cut 24. Move the head to the right to posi- 
tion 1 ; then to the left to position 2 ; then to the right to 3 ; 
then to 4 ; then to 5 ; then to 6 ; then to 7 ; then to erect 
position, 8. 



2IO 



GESTURE STUDY 



Lesson 4 

Stand as in Cut 25. Move the head forward to position 
1 ; raise it to 2 ; lower it to 3 ; raise it to 4 ; lower it to 5 ; 
raise it to 6; lower it to 7 ; raise it to 8. Now rest a few 
seconds. 

Now drop the head back to 1 ; raise it to 2 ; lower it to 3 ; 
raise it to 4 ; lower it to 5 ; raise it to 6 ; lower it to 7 ; raise 
it to 8. Rest a few seconds. 




5.7 
Si.3 




3,7 



Cut 25. Cut 26. 

Lesson 5 

Stand as in Cut 26. Lower the head to position 1 ; 
raise it to 2 ; move it back to 3 ; raise it to 4 ; lower it to 5 ; 
raise it to 6 ; lower it to 7 ; raise it to 8. Rest a few seconds. 



GESTURE STUDY 



211 



Lesson 6 

Stand as in Cut 27. Drop the head to position 1; move 
it back to 2 ; move it forward to 3 ; back to 4 ; forward to 5 ; 
back to 6 ; forward to 7 \ erect to 8. 

6,8 




7.5/ 
3.1;- 




^5.7 
,1.3 



Cut 27. 



Cut 28. 



Lesson 7 

Stand erect as shown by the middle position, Cut 28, 
hands on the hips. Bend the body at the waist, moving the 
head and shoulders to the right to position 1 ; straighten it 
erect to 2 ; move it to 3 ; straighten it to 4 ; bend it to 5 ; 
straighten it to 6 ; bend it to 7 ; straighten it to 8. Rest a 
few seconds. 



212 



GESTURE STUDY 



Stand as before, in Cut 28. Now bend the body at the 
waist and move the head and shoulders to left to position 1 ; 
straighten body to 2; bend it to 3 ; straighten it to 4; bend it 
to 5 ; straighten it to 6; bend it to 7 ; straighten it to 8. Rest 
a few seconds. 




' In*}. W 



Cut 29. 



Lesson 8 

Stand as in middle position, Cut 29. Move head and 
shoulders to the right to position 1 ; straighten the body to 2 ; 
bend it to the left to 3 ; straighten it to 4 ; bend it to 5 ; 
straighten it to 6 ; bend it to 7 ; straighten it to 8. Rest a 
few seconds. 



GESTURE STUDY 



213 



Lesson 9 

Stand as shown by middle position, Cut 30. Move hand 
and shoulders to right to position 1 ; move body to the left to 
position 2 ; to the right to 3 ; to the left to 4 ; to the right to 
5 ; to the left to 6 ; to the right to 7 ; erect f o 8. Rest a few 
seconds. 



1,5;<^^. . 




7,5. 3-< 



Cut 30. 



Cut 31. 



Lesson 10 



Stand as in middle position, Cut 31. Move the right 
foot to right to position 1 (do not bend either knee) ; back to 
2 ; right to 3 ; back to 4 ; right to 5 ; back to 6 ; right to 7 ; 
back to 8. Keep both knees straight and always put sole of 
right foot on the floor. 



214 



GESTURE STUDY 



Now stand as before. Move the left foot to the left to posi- 
tion i ; back to 2 ; left to 3 ; back to 4 ; left to 5 ; back to 6 ; 
left to 7 ; back to 8 ; always putting left foot on the floor. 



Stand as 



753 I ' 



%b«2 



Lesson ii 

shown in middle position, Cut 32. Now move 
right foot to the left to position 1, 
passing it in front of the left leg, 
bending the knee slightly to lift it 
over the left foot, rest the toes on 
the floor ; now move the foot back 
to position 2 ; pass it to 3 ; back to 
4 ; pass it to 5 ; back to 6 ; pass it 
to 7 ; back to 8. 

Now move the left foot to the 
rig/it, bending the left knee slightly 
to lift the left foot over the right, and 
passing it in front of the right leg 
to position 1, touch toes of foot on 
the floor ; bring it back to 2 ; move 
it to 3; back to 4; move it to 
5 ; back to 6 ; move it to 7 ; back 
to 8. 




Lesson 12 

Stand with feet at right angles, as shown in Cut 33, with 
arms folded. Now, without moving shoulders or body, twist 
the neck, moving head to right to position 1, as shown in cut. 
Move it back to 2 ; right to 3 ; back to 4 ; right to 5 ; back 



GESTURE STUDY 



215 



to 6 ; right to 7 ; back to 8. Be sure to say one for the first 
position, two for the second, three for the third, etc., and make 
a short pause at each position. 

Now, as before, move the head to the left to position 1 in 
Cut 33 ; back to 2 ; left to 3 ; back to 4 ; left to 5 ; back to 
6 ; left to 7 ; back to 8. Rest. 





Cut 33. 



Cut 34. 



Lesson 13 

Stand as in Lesson 12. Now move the head to the right to 
position 1, in Cut 34 ; back to position 2 ; left to 3 ; back to 
4 ; right to 5 ; back to 6 ; left to 7 ; back to 8. 



2l6 



GESTURE STUDY 



Lesson 14 

Take standing position as in Lesson 13. Move the head to 
the right to position 1, in Cut 35 ; then to the 
left to position 2 ; right to 3 ; left to 4 ; right 
to 5 ; left to 6 ; right to 7 ; back to position 8. 

Note. — In Lessons 12, 13, 14, after you 
have gotten somewhat used to the exercises, 
make a strong effort to get the chin around 
directly over the shoulder, as shown in Cuts 
33> 34> 35- ^ vvm " ta ke a good deal of 
practice. 




Cut 35. 



Lesson 15 

Stand as shown in the 
central position of Cut 36. 
Now, without moving the feet 
from their position, twist the 
body to the right till the left 
shoulder is directly over the 
apex of the angle formed by 
the feet, and the head is in 
position 1, as shown by Cut 36; then move the 
head around till you have the chin over the 
right shoulder, as shown by position 1, Cut 35. 
Now reverse the movement and come back to 
position 2, Cut 36. Now twist the body again 
and move the shoulders to' the right as before, 
to position 3 ; back to 4 ; move to 5 ; back to 6 ; 
move to 7 ; back to 8. 

Now execute the same exercise, moving the body to the left. 



Cut 36. 



GESTURE STUDY 



217 



Lesson 16 

Stand as shown in central position of Cut 37 
the body to the right, as directed in Lesson 15, 
so as to take position 1, in Cut 37. Now 
come back to position 2 ; then twist the body 
around to the left to position 3, as shown by 
direction in Lesson 15 ; now come back to 4 ; 
now go to 5 ; come back to 6 ; now go to 7 ; 
come back to 8. Rest a few seconds. 

ft Note. — In Lessons 15,16, 

17, be very sure to keep the 
LTjr 2.4 f eet from moving at all. 



Now twist 





Cur 37. 



Lesson 17 

Stand as in the middle 
position, Cut 38. Now twist 
the body to the right as di- 
rected in Lesson 16, moving 
it to position 1, Cut 38. Now 
reverse the movement and 
twist the body clear around to 
position 2 ; twist it to three ; twist it back to 4 ; 
reverse it to 5 ; twist it to 6 ; twist it to 7 ; move 
back to 8. 

Lesson 18 

Stand in erect position, as shown by Cut 39. 
Now bend the body forward to position 1 ; 
straighten it erect to 2 ; forward to 3 ; erect to 4 j bend it to 5 ; 
straighten it to 6 ; bend it to 7 ; straighten it to 8. 



Cut 38. 



2l8 GESTURE STUDY 

In all these bendings take about a second for each one. 



„<or 



3.n 




Cut 39. 

Now bend the body back to 1 ; raise it to 2 ; bend back to. 
3 ; raise it to 4 ; bend it to 5 ; raise it to 6 ; back to 7 ; raise it 
to 8. Rest a few seconds. 

Caution. — In this exercise and those similar that follow, 
care must be taken not to strain the back. These muscles in 
many persons are very weak and this exercise is to strengthen 
them. Until they gain in strength, let the movements back- 
ward be made very slowly, and do not move back too far when 
first beginning the exercise. Do not be discouraged, but take 
time. 



GESTURE STUDY 



219 



Lesson 19 

Stand as in Cut 40. Now bend the body forward to posi- 
tion 1 ; straighten it to 2 ; bend it back to position 3 ; straighten 







CUT 40. 



it to 4 ; forward to 5 ; straighten to 6 ; backward to 7 ; straighten 
to 8. Rest a few seconds. 

These exercises will strengthen the muscles of the waist and 
thus give strength to the voice. They will also correct indi- 
gestion, which has a tendency to make the voice husky. Good 
health is necessary for a clear, strong, musical voice. 

Caution. — Do not bend backward very far at first. 



220 



GESTURE STUDY 



Lesson 20 
Stand as shown by middle position, Cut 41. 



■A 6 



r r t5 / 



Cut 41. 



Caution. — Move slowly in this exercise. 

Now bend the body forward to position 1 • now bend it clear 
back to position 2 ; forward to 3 ; clear back to 4 ; forward to 
5 ; back to 6 ; forward to 7 ; erect to 8. 

Note. — This is a difficult exercise and must be carefully 
done. Make the backward movement farther by degrees. 

By strengthening the muscles of the waist and back, the per- 
son will have a more erect carriage. 



GESTURE STUDY 



221 



Lesson 21 

Stand as shown by Cut 42 ; arms extended, knuckles of the 
right hand up, and knuckles of the left hand down. Now 
clench the hands as tightly as possible. Next twist the right 
arm around so as to bring the knuckles of the right hand 



KNUCKLL5D0WN 
FIRST POSITION. 




Cut 42. 



down; at the same time twist the left arm so as to turn the 
knuckles of the left hand up. Now reverse, bringing the right 
hand knuckles up and the left hand knuckles down. Continue 
this reversing for eight counts, counting 1, 2, 3, etc., for each 
reversal. Make the reversals as quickly as possible. 



222 



GESTURE STUDY 



Lesson 22 

Stand as in Cut 43 ; right arm extended, hand tightly clenched, 
knuckles down, as marked " First position ; " left arm bent, hand 
at neck and tightly clenched, as shown in Cut 43, marked " First 



FIRST POSITION 



FIR3V POSITION 
42 




.5,7 
1.3 



CUT 43. 



position." Keep the hands tightly clenched throughout the 
following exercises. Now bend the right arm and at the same 
time straighten the left, bringing each to position marked 1 ; 
now reverse, that is, straighten the right and bend the left, 
bringing the hands to position 2 j reverse to 3 ; then to 4 j 
now to 5 ; back again to 6 ; reverse to 7 ; return to beginning 



GESTURE STUDY 



223 



position, 8. In the exercises of this Lesson make the move- 
ments quickly as possible, keeping the hands tightly clenched. 

Lesson 23 

Stand as shown in Cut 44 ; left arm and hand extended, 
right arm bent and hand clenched, as marked " First position." 
Now straighten the right arm and hand to position, figure 1, and 




Cut 44. 



at the same time bend the left arm and clench the left hand, 
bringing them to position marked by figure 1. Now bend the 
right and straighten the left to position 2 ; now back to position 
3 ; then to 4 ; again to 5 ; now to 6; then to 7 ; again to 8. 



224 



GESTURE STUDY 



Note. — Be sure that the bending of the arms and the 
clenching of the hands alternate throughout. 



Lesson 24 

Stand as in Cut 45 ; right arm extended, hand very tightly 
clenched, and finger nails turned up. Now bend the wrist 

slightly, turn the hand in a 
5 — ~ small circle, turning the nails 

down ; at the same time bend 
the elbow, bringing the hand 
and arm to position 1, with 
knuckles toward the body ; 
don't stop, but move right on as 
the arrowhead indicates, mak- 
ing the circle directly under 
the arm at position 2 ; move 
right on without stopping, mak- 
ing circle back of the head, as 
shown at figure 3, twisting the 
arm in moving from 2 to 3 so 
that as you approach the head 
the nails will be toward the 
head ; move right on without 
stopping in the direction of 
the arrowhead to position 4, 
twisting the arm so the knuckles are turned toward the head 
at figure 4 ; move right on, extending the arm and turning the 
hand so as to bring it into the same position as when the start 
was made. Repeat. 

Now extend the left arm as shown in the cut for the right 




Cut 45. 



GESTURE STUDY 



225 



arm. Now proceed to move slowly through the same com- 
plete movement with the left arm as instructed for the right 
arm. This is a difficult exercise for the arms, and will take 
considerable practice to do it well. This exercise, with the 
preceding arm exercises, will not only strengthen the arm, but 
will also straighten it. In teaching gestures I have found that 
on an average more than twenty out of twenty-four ladies have 
crooked and undeveloped arms, some of them being as much 
as three inches out of line, due to a lack of development of the 
muscles or a disproportionate development. This is far from 
the artist's ideal of beauty. 



Lesson 25 

Stand as in Cut 46 : arms folded, feet at 
about a right angle, and the right foot in 
advance. Now keep the muscles of the leg 
firm, turn the toe of the right foot toward the 
left to figure 1 ; now raise the foot slowly, 
making the circle at 1 ; lift it higher, turning 
the toe in and back as far as possible, 
making circle at 2 ; continue right on and 
raise the foot higher, and as you raise it 
twist the leg so as to bring the toe straight 
forward when half the circle is made at 3 ; 
move right on, twisting the leg so when you 
come to circle 4 the toe is turned out as at 
figure 4 ; complete circle 4 and begin to move 
the foot down, twisting the leg so when the 
foot is halfway down, the toe is turned to the 
left, as shown at figure 2, and moving right on, you finally 




Cut 46. 



226 GESTURE STUDY' 

bring the foot in "position," just as it was when you started. 
Repeat the round eight times. 

Stand as in Cut 46 ; arms folded, feet at right angles. Now 
take the left foot and apply the movements to the left foot as 
directed for the right. Repeat the round eight times. The 
movements of Lesson 25 are exceedingly difficult, and will 
require many efforts before they can be done easily. They 
are very valuable, however, in the development of the muscles 
of the legs, and are equally valuable to the person who must 
be "on the feet" a great deal and to the person who walks 
but little. Be sure to master these exercises. 






PECL'NING POSITION 

Cut 47. 

Lesson 26 

Lie supinely upon the floor, as shown by " reclining posi- 
tion," Cut 47. Fold the arms. Now, without raising the feet 
from the floor, lift the body into an erect position, as shown by 
the sitting posture in Cut 47. You may have to try a good 
many times before you can do this, because the muscles of the 
waist and back are so weak; but be persistent and you will 
succeed. Repeat the exercise eight times. 



GESTURE STUDY 



227 



Lesson 27 

Stand in the upright position 
as shown in Cut 48. Extend 
both hands. Now bend the 
body, as shown by dotted 
figure in Cut 48, until the 
fingers touch the floor. If 
you do not succeed the first 
time, straighten the body to 
the erect position and reach 
again, and continue to reach 
and straighten the body till 
you can touch the floor. This 
will be a hard task for many 
persons, but continue to try ; 
this will bring success. In all 
your exercise keep you?' mind 
intently fixed on what you air 
hying to accomplish. 

Lesson 28 




Cut 48. 



Balance the body, stand on the right foot; both hands and 
arms extended and left foot raised, as shown in Cut 49. Now, 
without allowing the left foot to touch the floor, sink down 
slowly, bending the right knee until the body has taken the 
position of the dotted figure, marked 1 ; now, without touching 
the floor with the left foot, raise the body to position 2 ; lower 
it as before directed to position 3 ; raise it to 4 ; lower it to 5 ; 
raise it to 6 ; lower it to 7 ; raise it to 8. 

Caution. — Persons oyer fifty-five years of age should not 
attempt this exercise, as their bones may be too brittle. 



228 



GESTURE STUDY 



Stand as in Cut 49, except stand on the left foot and right 
foot extended. Now go through the same exercises as directed 
in beginning of lesson. It will, no doubt, be several days be- 
fore you can go the round of " 8 " in Lesson 28, but be patient 
and continue your daily 
efforts. .,--' 

8 4, 



/? 




i - 



x / 
10 >. 




Cut 49. 



Cut 50. 



Lesson 29 

Stand as shown by Cut 50. With the right arm describe 
the circle as shown by cut. Start the movement toward the 
body. Keep the arm as straight as possible at the elbow. At 
the wrist let the hand drop down till the perpendicular position 



GESTURE STUDY 



229 



is reached at 7 ; then, as the arm descends, let the hand turn 
upward, as shown in cut, by turning the hand so the palm is 
downward. In other words, always let the hand follow the 
arm. In dignified and artistic gesture the hand must follow 
the arm with the wrist bent. Complete this circle eight con- 
secutive times. 

Second. Make the circle with the left hand in a similar 
manner eight times. 

Third. Reverse each movement, beginning with the right 
hand ; that is, start the hand from the body. Next make the 
reverse movement with the left hand. Give each eight times. 

Fourth. Make circles with both hands simultaneously, start- 
ing the hands toivard the 
body. Make the circle eight 
times. Now reverse these 
circles ; that is, start them ^.•.•••**"""*'-? c \ ■ 
from the body. Make eight \ " -~ 



assa 



times. 



Lesson 30 



\ 






LINE OF GE37URI 
MOVEflENT 



Stand as shown by Cut 51. 
First with right foot in ad- 
vance. Use the right hand. 
Describe the elliptical line, 
as shown in cut, letting the 
hand pass under the chin, 
bending elbow, and let the 
hand follow by bending the 
wrist. Let the elbow and 
wrist straighten on the line 
opposite the shoulders ; bring the hand to this point with a 




Cut 51. 



230 



GESTURE STUDY 



stroke, or accent, as shown in cut by heavy line. Hold the 
hand at this point for a moment, then turn the arm so the 
palm of the hand is down, and let drop to the side, the hand 
following the arm. Repeat eight times. 

Second. Repeat the same exercise with the left hand eight 
times, standing with left foot forward. 

Third. Use both hands, but do not overlap in front of the 
body the elliptical lines ; just let the hands nearly touch, with 
backs toward each other. These exercises are frequently used 
to express thought, and when so used they become gesture. 



^ s "~ : --c". r ..*? 

>"■'-- Dfr- 



SV 



Lesson 31 
Stand as shown by Cut 52, right foot forward, hands at 

sides. With the right hand 
describe the figure as shown in 
the cut. It will be seen that 
the figure is that of the closed 
figure 8, with one end open 
and the closed end at the left 
shoulder. The hand should 
follow the line about one foot 
from the body, so as to make 
the circular end of the figure 
by bringing the hand toward 
the body, and the movement 
on the line next to the body 
downward. In executing this 
movement follow the line in 
the direction indicated by the 
figures. When the hand has 
taken the final position at figure 11 it should be the index 



UNE OF INDEX 
CE5TURE MOVEMENT 




Cut 52. 



GESTURE STUDY 



231 



position of the fingers, the palm being either up or down as 
the thought requires. Practice this exercise by pointing to 
objects on different levels. This exercise becomes a gesture 
when used to delineate thought. It can be used to indicate 
any position, up or down, forward, side, or back. 

Second. — Practice these same exercises with the left hand. 
Practice in many positions, although only one is shown in cut. 



Lesson 32 

When making strong gestures, the foot should be forward on 
the side that the gesture is being 
made. See Cut 53. That is, if 
you are gesturing with the right 
hand, the right foot should be 
forward ; and if you are gesturing 
with the left hand, the left foot 
should be forward. The observ- 
ance of the positions makes the 
movement more graceful, and it 
is easier executed. It preserves 
the symmetrical appearance of 
the body. This requires a shift- 
ing of the feet, because it will 
sometimes happen that the right 
foot will be forward when you 
want to use the left hand, and 
the left foot will be forward 
when you want to use the 
right hand. In either case the 
changing of the feet is necessary to execute strong gestures. 




Cut 53. 



232 



GESTURE STUDY 



Lesson 33 



To change position of the feet, always step with the front 

foot first. 

If the right foot is forward and you want to use the left 

hand, step with the right foot directly to the right about eighteen 

inches, placing the foot on a 
parallel line with the side of the 
body, then draw the left foot 
toward and within about eight 
inches of the right foot, and on 
a line perpendicular with the line 
running lengthwise through the 
right foot. At the same time 
you are doing this with the feet, 
begin the movement for the 
gesture with the left arm, moving 
the arm fast enough so as to 
complete the gesture just after 
the feet are in position. 

If the left foot is forward and 
you want to gesture with the' 
right hand, step with the left foot 
to the left, and proceed to bring 
the feet and arm into position in 

the same way as directed for the gesture with the left hand. 

The student will have to work this out in detail. Cut 54 will 

be suggestive. 




Cut 54. 



I find in my teaching that students fail to do gesture 
work because they are timid, and are at a loss how to 



GESTURE STUDY 233 

begin. It is deemed proper here to give a few specific 
directions. Before we begin the student must remem- 
ber that the usual audience is largely " sense and senti- 
ment." The most intelligent person, finding himself in 
an audience, becomes a member of this class. 

Persons in this state of mentality consider all thought 
concretely, not abstractly. This has always been the prin- 
cipal method of presentation. In the early life of man, 
because of his inability to conceive in the abstract, we 
find him presenting all things concretely. Take up 
your mythology and note there the efforts to picture 
the abstract beings called gods. Note the mythical 
characters in Homer's great work. " Troy is the city 
of Darkness, where Priam the king of Darkness dwells; 
and Paris is the shades of Night. Helos is the Sun, 
and Hellas the land of the Sun ; and Hellenese, the 
Greeks, children of the Sun. Europia, Europe, is the 
land of the Dawn, and Samander and Simois are 
the Sky rivers. Paris abducts Helen and carries her 
to the kingdom of Darkness. Now the war begins. 
The Celestial Luminaries sail the Sky rivers to attack 
the king of Night." Priam gathers his forces for de- 
fense, and the battle is on. The forces of Light dispel 
Darkness, those of Darkness dispel Light, and the con- 
test has never ceased. 

The goddess of night was usually pictured as a woman ; 
the god of time, a young man with wings on his feet, 
meaning to say, " / run very swiftly," — no hair on the 
back of the head and thick locks on the front, which meant 



234 GESTURE STUDY 

to say, " You must clutch me as I approach you, for if you 
let me once pass by, you cannot take me." This gave 
rise to the expression, "Take time by the forelock." 
Saint Paul, when he went to Athens, found thirty thou- 
sand gods pictured in marble about the streets of the 
city, and one "To the Unknown God." Terah, the 
father of Abraham, worshiped idols, as did many of 
the Israelites afterward. It was in accord with their 
conception of things. They could not comprehend the 
abstract, and so held to the concrete. The idolatrous 
heathen still live in the same mental plane. This prin- 
ciple of human life still exists. The only way to succeed 
with an audience is to take them as you find them, and 
proceed from the knozvn to the related unknown. Pro- 
ceed from the concrete to the abstract. Make your ges- 
tures when referring to the intangible things as if they 
were tangible — the audience thinks of them in that way. 

Kinds of Gestures 

With reference to picturing things gestures will indi- 
cate the following, each class having an opposite or a 
contrast : — 

EXAMPLES 

Expanse, opposite Location. 
Height, opposite Depth. 
Coming, opposite Going. 
Darkness, opposite Light. 
Beseeching, opposite Repelling. 



GESTURE STUDY 235 

Forward, opposite Back. 
Moving, opposite Stationary. 
Beckoning, opposite Defiance. 
Love, opposite Hate. 
Heaven, opposite Hell. 

Then there are variations of these. All speeches will 
have some of these elements in them. In passing from 
one of these elements to another, and even from one 
part to another of the same element, the line of move- 
ment is in circles and curves ; except when expressing 
anger and insanity, when the line of movement is mostly 
in straight lines. In making strong gestures straighten 
the arm well at the elbow. The best artists showing 
persons gesticulating with the arm paint the straight 
arm. While it is true that the majority of persons have 
crooked arms, they should not have and would not have 
if they had used them well. The ideal is the arm nearly 
straight, or straight at the elbow. Study the pictures of 
the best artists. 

While it is impossible in a book to show a speaker in 
action, that is, actually passing from one gesture to the 
next, the following cuts will show his positions when he 
has gesticulated to express one of the thoughts in the 
class as named above. All thoughts do not require 
bodily gestures, some gestures are voice. In passing 
from one gesture to the next, when they are consecu- 
tive, the transition must be made smoothly, not abruptly. 
The words in the following quotations are printed in 
italics to show where the gesture is completed. 



236 



GESTURE STUDY 



Let the arms for 
front gesture usually 
be kept within the 
arc of the dotted 
lines, except in show- 
ing vast expanse. 




Cut 55. 

{Showing expanse.) 

" Nor in the torrid clime dark heaving, bound- 
less, endless, and sublime." — Byron. 



Cut 56. 

{Showing definite location^ 

Once in the days long 
ended, 

Just where those shad- 
ows fall, 

There grew a bed of 
heartsease, 

Close by the old stone 
wall." 



GESTURE STUDY 



237 





Cut 57. 

{Showing height.) 
High as yonder mountain top." 



Cut 58. 

(Showing depth.) 
Deep as yonder sea." 



238 



GESTURE STUDY 




Cur 59. 

{Shaving coming.) 

If you dare fight to-day, come 
to the field." 



Cut 60. 

{Showing going.) 

I prithee, boy, run to the senate 
house." 



GESTURE STUDY 



239 




Cut 61. 

(Showing darkness.) 

Darkness may lend her gloomy aid, 
And wrap the groaning world in shade." 
— East burn 



Cut 62. 

(Showing light.) 
" Behold the glorious morn." 



240 



GESTURE STUDY 




Cut 63. 

( Showing beseech ing. ) 

"Abide with me; fast falls the even- 
tide; the darkness deepens; Lordwith 
me abided 



Cut 64. 
{Showing repelling.) 

Vain pomp and glory of this 
world, I hate you." 



GESTURE STUDY 



241 




Cut 65. 

{Showing forward.} 

Borne by the tempest, on we sail, 
O'er Ocean's billowy way." 

— J. Pierpont. 



Cut 66. 
(Showing back position.) 

In the rear came the guide's 
horse, slowly trotting after." 



242 



GESTURE STUDY 




Cut 67. 

{Showing motion.') 

" Esca was advancing, inch by inch, 
stride by stride, like a tiger about to 
spring." — Melville. 



Cut 68. 

(Show i?ig stopping . ) 

" He paused in front of the 
grand stand to receive his in- 
structions." 



GESTURE STUDY 



243 




Cut 69. 

{Showing beckoning ) 

" Don't look so, 
Give me the baby.' 1 '' 



Cut 70. 

{Showing defiance.) 

' I tell thee, 
Thou art defied'''' 
— Scott. 



244 



GESTURE STUDY 





Cut 71. 

{Showing love.) 

Come, my little boy, / love you ; let 
me put my arm about you." 



Cut 72. 

{Showing hate.) 

" I tell thee, 
I hate the Moor." 

— Shakespeare. 



GESTURE STUDY 



245 




Cut 73. 

{Showing reference to heaven.) 

" Now by yon marble heaven, 

in the due reverence of a sacred 

vow, I here engage my words." 

— Shakespeare. 



Cut 74. 
{Showing reference to hell.) 
" Dear to her are the pomp and 
power, the shadowy vastness and 
the terrible splendor of the Nether 
World r ' — Melville. 



The gesture movement, that is the preparation for the 
gesture, begins when the first word of the sentence is 
spoken. This movement will terminate in the stroke on 
the accented syllable of the emphatic word, as is shown by 
7 and 8, Cut 18. This stroke position will be held till 
the end of the Thought Sentence is reached, or nearly so. 
If the emphatic word is the first word, then the prepara- 



246 



GESTURE STUDY 



tion which precedes the stroke will be made before any 
words are uttered. 

Keep ever before you these principles : — 

First, the thought 
suggests the kind of 
gesture, the move- 
ment of the gesture, 
and the manner of 
making the gesture, 
generally ; and sec- 
ond, the gesture m7ist 
be suggestive of the 
tJiouglit. These must 
be carefully kept in 
mind. 

The speaker, hav- 
ing his thoughts 
which when pre- 
sented will constitute 
his picture, must have 
a plan by which the 
parts which go to 
make up the picture 
shall fit nicely and 
logically, one into the other. Thus it is that the speaker 
becomes an artist in the truest sense of the word ; both 
a re-creative artist and a creative artist. None of man's 
artistic attainments excel this. 

The speaker, either a reader declaiming a selection, 







3*s % , m 




JHHr^ « 


^IPt 


JWpll»'>3£^MPP: 




I 1 




■*'%m> , 


CUT 75 ; 


THE LANDSC 


£\PE 


THROUGH THE 


HAXE 



GESTURE STUDY 247 

or an orator redelivering his oration, is not confined to 
a single plan. The plan may vary in some details as 
often as the production may be delivered. A thousand 
or more renderings can present as many variations in 
the picture, but the general plan will remain. 

The discussion of the following picture, as given by 
Joaquin Miller, will serve to make plain what is meant : 

" Two gray hawks ride the rising blast ; 
Dark cloven clouds drive to and fro 
By peaks preeminent in snow ; 
A sounding river rushes past, 
So wild, so vortex-like, and vast. 
A lone lodge tops the windy hill ; 
A tawny maiden, mute and still, 
Stands waiting at the river's brink, 
As weird and wild as you can think. 
A mighty chief is at her feet ; 
She does not heed him wooing so — 
She hears the dark, wild waters flow ; 
She waits her lover, tall and fleet, 
From far gold fields of Idaho, 
Beyond the beaming hills of snow. 



tC i 



He comes ! ' The grim chief springs in air — 
His brawny arm, his blade, is bare. 
She turns ; she lifts her round, brown hand ; 
She looks him fairly in the face ; 
She moves her foot a little pace 
And says, with coldness and command, 
' There's blood enough in this lorn land, 



248 GESTURE STUDY 

But see ! a test of strength and skill, 

Of courage and fierce fortitude ; 

To breast and wrestle with the rude 

And storm-born waters, now I will 

Bestow you both. : . . Stand either side ! 

Take you my left, tall Idaho ; 

And you, my burly chief, I know 

Would choose my right. Now peer you low 

Across the waters wild and wide. 

See ! leaning so this morn I spied 

Red berries dip yon farther side. 

See, dipping, dripping in the stream, 

Twin boughs of autumn berries gleam ! 

Now this, brave men, shall be the test : 

Plunge in the stream, bear knife in teeth 

To cut yon bough for bridal wreath. 

Plunge in ! and he who bears him best, 

And brings yon ruddy fruit to land 

The first, shall have both heart and hand.' " 

The picture shown by Cut 76 was drawn by Miss 
Laura Miller, under supervision of the author of this 
book, to illustrate the important things spoken of in the 
first paragraph of the above extract from the poem of 
Joaquin Miller. Facing the picture, you will note that 
the hawks, the lodge, and the river are on the left ; on 
the right is the rising blast, the mountains, the maiden, 
and the chief ; the lover will enter from the right. All 
these may be, and ought to be, designated by gesture, so 
as to present the plan to the auditors in a concrete way. 



GESTURE STUDY 



249 




250 GESTURE STUDY 

The speaker, describing a scene, must always have 
a view point, just as does the artist. 

The above scene is that of a rising storm. The time 
of the year is autumn. On the one side of the picture 
will be the mountains, snow-capped, rising above the 
black storm cloud, which has been parted by the moun- 
tain peaks. From the foot of the mountains there 
stretches a vast plain, or rolling prairie, or the broken 
foothills, likely the latter, for " A lone lodge tops the 
windy hill " — which of these depends upon the speaker's 
conception of the picture. The following will be for 
the other side of the picture. 

Down the mountains and flowing out across the plain 
is the rapid, boiling mountain river. The speaker's view 
point must be taken where he can see all this, and pre- 
sent it in front of himself to his audience so they can 
see it. The speaker's position will be nearly identical 
with that of the Indian girl, which is on the bank of the 
river. To his right will be the mountains (they could 
just as well be to the left). Opposite the mountains,, 
to the speaker's left, will be the plain. The river will 
be pictured as flowing down from the mountains out 
across the plain ; that is, from the right of the speaker 
to his left. I have a number of times seen the speaker 
picture the river as flowing from left to right, up the 
mountain. Kneeling to the girl, on her right, will be 
the burly chief. Why ? Because Idaho comes down 
from the mountains, and the chief at first does not see 
him come. If he knelt on the girl's left, as we started 



GESTURE STUDY 25 I 

our picture with the view point, putting the mountains 
on the right, he would have his face to the mountains, 
and so could see Idaho approach, which he did not; 
because he sprang in the air ready for fight, as shown 
by the speech of the girl, " He comes." When Idaho 
comes, the girl places him on her left, and commands 
the burly chief to take her right. She stands facing the 
river, and points out across it to the other side, where 
hang the berries. Now the contest is about to begin, 
and it all must be in the mind of the speaker. 

This is a brief outline, or skeleton, which is necessary 
for an interesting presentation of this word picture. 
Others may be made, but they will proceed along simi- 
lar lines. 

This work is most essential in all effective speaking. 
If the speaker is using his own arrangement of language, 
he must still have a plan of his own created picture, or 
he will fail to present his thoughts to the audience in an 
interesting way and successful manner. 

It is bodily gesture that is the strongest factor in pre- 
senting accurately a plan. Thus it will often be that 
a speaker will have many more gestures at the begin- 
ning of his speech or selection than later in the pro- 
duction. When the plan has once been well presented, 
many references do not need gesture of the body. So 
it is that young speakers will use more gesticulation 
than they will when they are more skilled in the work. 

Gesture is very difficult, and the student must make 
up his mind to work hard at it if he will succeed. 



2 52 GESTURE STUDY 

Recognition of the Audience 

When a reader or speaker is introduced to an audi- 
ence, it is proper and courteous to acknowledge such 
introduction by a slight bow when the person intro- 
duced is a gentleman, and a courtesy if a lady. The 
same is true on finishing a reading. 

And especially must this be done if the audience 
greets this introduction with applause. 

How to Bow 

In bowing, gentlemen stand with heels together and 
feet at right angles, as shown in Cut 1 1 a. Then bend 
the body gracefully and symmetrically, not a nod of the 
head merely. The body should not be bent so much that 
the eyes of the person bowing must be taken from the 
audience. Both arms hang at the sides, as does the right 
arm in the cut. 

How to Courtesy 

Ladies do not bow, but courtesy. The act of cour- 
tesying is difficult. To courtesy, the lady stands before 
the audience with one foot in advance, as shown in Cut 
1 8. Either foot may be forward. Now with this front 
foot describe a circular movement. Bring this foot back 
so that the line passing lengthwise through this foot and 
the line passing lengthwise through the foot held station- 
ary shall intersect at right angles under the ankle of the 
foot moved back. As the foot is describing this circular 



GESTURE STUDY 253 

movement let the body bend gracefully forward, and 
when the foot that was moving is planted firmly on the 
floor, as above directed, bend the knee of this leg and 
depress the body as low as you desire to make the cour- 
tesy. To straighten the body, draw the foot that is 
forward back to the back foot, and at the same time 
straighten the back knee and raise the body. 

Occasionally persons discourage these acts of courtesy. 
If you will study the disposition of such persons, com- 
ment will not be necessary. Great men and women are 
polite always. They are the examples to follow. A 
truly great personage is never stiffnecked. 

" What boots it thy virtue, 
What profit thy parts, 
While one thing thou lackest, — 
The art of all arts ? 

" The only credentials, 
Passport to success ; 
Opens castle and parlor, 
Address, man, address." — Emerson. 



CHAPTER XXIII 
Personation or Character Sketching 

In this chapter we shall again tread upon disputed 
ground, the question being when to Personate and when 
not to Personate. The difference of opinion on this 
subject is largely due, as I see it, to the forms of litera- 
ture and the expressional attitude concerning the same. 
We have the Narrative, the Indirect, and the Direct 
forms of discourse. For example : I heard the man say 
Caesar's death was caused by Brutus, and Charles the 
First's by Cromwell, and George the Third should profit 
by their example. This is the narrative form. Again : 
The man said that " Caesar was killed by Brutus, Charles 
the First had his Cromwell, and George the Third can 
profit by their example." This is indirect discourse and 
is stronger language than the mere narrative. Again, 
he cried, " Caesar had his Brutus, Charles the First his 
Cromwell, and George the Third may profit by their 
example." This is direct discourse and the strongest 
expression. 

The question is, When shall I Personate ? 

Let us first determine what Personation, or Impersona- 
tion as it is also called, is. Second, where does Per- 
sonation belong in the realm of Elocution ? This will 
help us to establish one theory. 

254 



PERSONATION OR CHARACTER SKETCHING 255 

Personate (from Latin, personatus, from per, by or 
through, and sonare, to sound) is to represent another 
individual by sound or voice as well as by mask (from 
persona, a mask). The dictionary definition of Person- 
ate is, " To assume the character of ; to act the part of ; 
pass for; to typify." 

Assume (Latin as or ad, to, and sumere, from sub, 
under, or below, and sumo, take to oneself) is to take 
upon oneself, formally and demonstratively, to outwardly 
seem. 

From the origin of the word Personate, it seems to me 
our work is plain. Our only guide to follow is the 
literature itself. This contains the thoughts of the 
author, and since all expressive reading is to portray to 
the listeners the thoughts and word pictures of the 
author, the first effort is to determine from the language 
used what the writer intended to convey. When refer- 
ence merely to what was done is intended, the narrative 
form of discourse is used. It is the weakest form, and 
the speaker does not have in mind the idea of conveying 
to the listener an exact counterfeit of what took place. 
He is content to say such an affair happened. There is 
no desire to enact the scene. This narrative style some- 
times is so keen that the listeners almost feel themselves 
in the very presence of the act. But this is due more 
to the activities of the listener's own mind than what the 
speaker has said. To be moved by mere narrative or 
description, the listener must have a vivid imagination. 
When the narrative assumes this intense form, it is then 



256 PERSONATION OR CHARACTER SKETCHING 

in the border land of Indirect Discourse, and may be 
properly called Dramatic Narrative or Description ; and 
in the presentation it will have some of the elements of 
Personation. In Narrative or Description, Objective 
Gestures will prevail. The following extract is a good 
example : — 

THE LAST CHARGE OF NEY 

The whole continental struggle exhibited no sublimer spec- 
tacle than the last great effort of Napoleon to save his sinking 
empire. Europe had been put upon the plains of Waterloo to 
be battled for. The greatest military energy and skill the 
world possessed had been tasked to the utmost during the day. 
Thrones were tottering on the ensanguined field, and the 
shadows of fugitive kings flitted through the smoke of battle. 
Bonaparte's star trembled in the zenith, now blazing out in its 
ancient splendor, now suddenly paling before his anxious eye. 

At length, when the Prussians appeared on the field, he re- 
solved to stake Europe on one bold throw. He committed 
himself and France to Ney, and saw his empire rest on a single 
charge. The intense anxiety with which he watched the ad- 
vance of the column, the terrible suspense he suffered when the 
smoke of battle concealed it from sight, and the utter despair 
of his great heart when the curtain lifted over a fugitive army 
and the despairing shriek rang out on every side, " La garde 
recule, La garde recule" make us, for the moment, forget all 
the carnage, in sympathy with his distress. 

Ney felt the pressure of the immense responsibility on his 
great heart, and resolved not to prove unworthy of the great 
trust committed to his care. Nothing could be more imposing 
than the movement of the grand column to the assault. That 



PERSONATION OR CHARACTER SKETCHING 257 

guard had never yet recoiled before a human foe ; and the 
allied forces beheld with awe its firm and terrible advance to 
the final charge. 

For a moment the batteries stopped playing and the firing 
ceased along the British lines, as, without the beating of a drum 
or the blast of a bugle, they moved in dead silence over the 
plain. The next moment the artillery opened, and the head 
of a gallant column seemed to sink down ; yet they neither 
stopped nor faltered. Resolving squadrons and whole battal- 
ions disappearing one after another in the destructive fire 
affected not their courage. The ranks closed up as before, and 
each, treading over his fallen comrade, pressed firmly on. The 
horse which Ney rode fell under him ; he had scarcely mounted 
another before it also sank to the earth. Again and again did 
that unflinching man feel his steed sink down, till five had been 
shot under him. Then, with his uniform riddled with bullets, 
and his face singed and blackened with powder, he marched 
on foot, with drawn saber, at the head of his men. 

In vain did the artillery hurl its storm of fire and lead into 
that living mass ; up to the very muzzles they pressed, and, 
driving the artillerymen from their places, pushed on to the 
English lines. But at that moment a file of soldiers, who had 
lain flat on the ground behind a low ridge of earth, suddenly 
rose and poured a volley into their faces. And another fol- 
lowed, till one broad sheet of flame rolled on their bosoms, and 
in such a fierce and unexpected flow, that human courage could 
not withstand it. They reeled, shook, staggered back, then 
turned and fled. 

The fate of Napoleon was writ. The star that had blazed so 
brightly over the world went down in blood, and the Bravest of 
the Brave had fought his last battle. — /. T. Headlcy. 



258 PERSONATION OR CHARACTER SKETCHING 

Description. 

Dark and stern, in their weird beauty, lower the sad brows 
of the Queen of Hell. Dear to her are the pomp and power, 
the shadowy vastness, and the terrible splendor of the nether 
world. Dear to her the pride of her unbending consort ; and 
doubly dear the wide imperial sway, that rules the immortal 
destinies of souls. But dearer far than these — dearer than 
flashing crown and fiery scepter, and throne of blazing gold — 
are the memories that glimmer bright as sunbeams athwart 
those vistas of gloomy grandeur, and seem to fan her weary 
spirit like a fresh breeze from the realms of upper earth. She 
has not forgotten, she never can forget, the dewy flowers, the 
blooming fragrance, of lavish Sicily, nor the sparkling sea, and 
the summer haze, and the golden harvests that wave and whis- 
per in the garden and granary of the world. 

Then a sad smile steals over the haughty face ; the stern 
beauty softens in the gleam, and, for a while, the daughter of 
Ceres is a laughing girl once more. 

So the Ivory Gate swings back, and gentle doves come forth 
on snowy wings, flying upward through the gloom, to bear balm 
and consolation to the weary and the wounded and the lost. 
Now this was the dream the birds of Peace brought with them, 
to soothe the broken spirit of a sleeping slave. 

******* 

— G. J. Whyte-Melville. 

Humorous Description. 

THE THREAD JOKE 

You've heard of folks (my wife is one) 
Who like to make, but not take fun ; 



PERSONATION OR CHARACTER SKETCHING 259 

These always say, none can devise 

A joke on them to their surprise. 

So wife and I to service went, 

On widely different things intent. 

We sat alone, just she and I ; 

And soon a raveling caught her eye 

Upon my Sunday coat of blue. 

At once she picked and pulled it through. 

She whispered, " John, you did not brush ! " 

She pulled, and then began to blush. 

" Your underwear is raveling, dear." 

I turned and said " That's very queer ; 

The tailor is to fault, I think," 

And gave a sanctimonious blink. 

Again she pulled and pulled the thread 

With twisted frame and bobbing head, 

Just like a spider with a fly 

She pulled her thread upon the sly. 

When ten or twenty yards, or more, 

Were lying on the seat and floor, 

I turned and said in solemn tone, 

" Dear wife, don't worry, let it alone." 

Again she bit it off so close 

I felt the impress of her nose. 

The time was short when Squire Lee 

Entered the pew, just back of me. 

'Twas very soon to my delight, 

I felt I had another bite. 

The squire pulled a yard or two 

Of raveling through my coat of blue. 

He'd pull awhile, then wait results, 



26o PERSONATION OR CHARACTER SKETCHING 

He knew I wouldn't take insults. 

But, when I did not turn my head, 

He pulled and pulled the raveled thread. 

Just like a deacon, there I sat ; 

My bait was what they both jumped at. 

When wife turned round and said to me, 

" Oh ! John, just look at Squire Lee, 

Your shirt will all be raveled out ; 

Dear, don't you know what he's about? 

If you don't tell him, let it be, 

There'll be no patchin' more by me ; 

Enough's unraveled now I say 

To keep me darnin' one whole day ! " 

Lee pulled awhile, but all at once 

'Twas done. I turned and said, " You dunce ! 

You and my wife have played the fool; 

You've got the thread, now take the spool." 

And from my pocket it I drew, 

How Katy looked I'll leave to you. — T. B. Weaver. 

Pathetic Description with Semipersonation and Personation. 

A SECOND TRIAL 

It was Commencement at one of our colleges. The people 
were pouring into the church as I entered it, rather tardy. 
Finding the choice seats in the center of the audience room 
already taken, I pressed forward, looking to the right and to 
the left for a vacancy. On the very front row of seats I found 
one. Here a little girl moved along to make room for me, 
looking into my face with large gray eyes, whose brightness 
was softened by very long lashes. Her face was open and 



PERSONATION OR CHARACTER SKETCHING 26 1 

fresh as a newly blown rose before sunrise. Again and again I 
found my eyes turning toward the roselike face, and each time 
the gray eyes moved, half smiling, to meet mine. Evidently 
the child was ready to " make up " with me. And when, with 
a bright smile, she returned my dropped handkerchief, and I 
said "Thank you," we seemed fairly introduced. Other per- 
sons now coming into the seat crowded me quite close up 
against the little girl, so that we soon felt very well acquainted. 

"There's going to be a great crowd," she said to me. 

" Yes," I replied ; " people always like to see how school- 
boys are made into men." 

Her face beamed with pleasure and pride as she said : " My 
brother's going to graduate ; he's going to speak ; I've brought 
these flowers to throw to him." They were not greenhouse 
favorites, just old-fashioned domestic flowers, such as we asso- 
ciate with the dear grandmothers ; " but," I thought, " they will 
seem sweet and beautiful to him for little sister's sake." 
"That is my brother," she said, smiling and shaking her head 
in innocent reproof; "not that homely one; that handsome 
one, with brown, wavy hair. His eyes look brown, too ; but they 
are not — they are dark blue. There, he's got his hand up to 
his head now. You see him, don't you?" In an eager way 
she looked from him to me and from me to him, as if some 
important fate depended upon my identifying her brother. 
" I see him," I said. " He's a very good-looking brother." 
"Yes, he is beautiful," she said, with artless delight; "and 
he's so good, and he studies so hard. He has taken care of 
me ever since mamma died. Here is his name on the pro- 
gramme. He is not the valedictorian, but he has an honor, for 
all that." I saw in the little creature's familiarity with these 
technical college terms that she had closely identified herself 



262 PERSONATION OR CHARACTER SKETCHING 

with her brother's studies, hopes, and successes. " His oration 
is a real good one, and he says it beautifully. He has said it 
to me a great many times. I 'most know it by heart. Oh ! it 
begins so pretty and so grand. This is the way it begins," 
she added, encouraged by the interest she must have seen in 
my face : " ' Amid the permutations and combinations of the 
actors and the forces which make up the great kaleidoscope of 
history, we often find that a turn of Destiny's hand — ' " 

" Why, bless the baby ! " I thought, looking down into her 
bright, proud face. I can't describe how very odd and elfish 
it did seem to have those sonorous words rolling out of the 
smiling infantile mouth. ' 

As the exercises progressed, and approached nearer and 
nearer the effort on which all her interest was concentrated, 
my little friend became excited and restless. Her eyes grew 
larger and brighter, two deep-red spots glowed on her cheeks. 

" Now it's his turn," she said, turning to me a face in which 
pride and delight and anxiety seemed about equally mingled. 
But when the overture was played through, and his name was 
called, the child seemed, in her eagerness, to forget me and all 
the earth beside him. She rose to her feet and leaned forward 
for a better view of her beloved, as he mounted to the speaker's" 
stand. I knew by her deep breathing that her heart was throb- 
bing in her throat. I knew, too, by the way her brother came 
up the steps and to the front that he was trembling. The 
hands hung limp ; his face was pallid, and the lips blue, as with 
cold. I felt anxious. The child, too, seemed to discern that 
things were not well with him. Something like fear showed in 
her face. 

He made an automatic bow. Then a bewildered, struggling 
look came into his face, then a helpless look, and then he stood 



PERSONATION OR CHARACTER SKETCHING 263 

staring vacantly, like a somnambulist, at the waiting audience. 
The moments of painful suspense went by, and still he stood 
as if struck dumb. I saw how it was ; he had been seized with 
stage fright. 

Alas ! little sister ! She turned her large, dismayed eyes 
upon him. " He's forgotten it," she said. Then a swift change 
came into her face, — a strong, determined look ; and on the 
funeral-like silence of the room broke the sweet, brave, child 
voice : — 

" * Amid the permutations and combinations of the actors 
and the forces which make up the great kaleidoscope of his- 
tory, we often find that a turn of Destiny's hand — ' " 

Everybody about us turned and looked. The breathless 
silence, the sweet, childish voice, the childish face, the long, 
unchildlike words, produced a weird effect. 

But the help had come too late ; the unhappy brother was 
already staggering in humiliation from the stage. The band 
quickly struck up, and waves of lively music rolled out to cover 
the defeat. 

I gave the little sister a glance in which I meant to show 
the intense sympathy I felt; but she did not see me. Her 
eyes, swimming with tears, were on her brother's face. I put 
my arm around her, but she was too absorbed to heed the 
caress, and before I could appreciate her purpose she was on 
her way to the shame-stricken young man sitting with a face 
like a statue's. 

When he saw her by his side, the set face relaxed, and a 
quick mist came into his eyes. The young men got closer 
together to make room for her. She sat down beside him, 
laid her flowers on his knee, and slipped her hand in his. 

I could not keep my eyes from her sweet, pitying face. 



264 PERSONATION OR CHARACTER SKETCHING 

I saw her whisper to him, he bending a little to catch her 
words. Later, I found out that she was asking him if he knew 
his "piece " now, and that he answered "yes." 

When the next young man on the list had spoken, and while 
the band was playing, the child, to the brother's great surprise, 
made her way up the stage steps and pressed through the 
throng of professors and trustees and distinguished visitors, up 
to the college president. 

" If you please, sir," she said, with a little courtesy, " will 
you and the trustees let my brother try again ? He knows that 
piece now." 

For a moment the president stared at her through his gold- 
bowed spectacles, and then, appreciating the child's petition, 
he smiled on her, and went down and spoke to the young man 
who had failed. 

So it happened that when the band again ceased playing, it 

was briefly announced that Mr. would now deliver his 

oration, "Historical Parallels." 

A ripple of heightened and expectant interest passed over 
the audience, and then all sat stone still, as though fearing to 
breathe lest the speaker might again take fright. No danger ! 
The hero in the youth was aroused. He went at his " piece " 
with a set purpose to conquer, to redeem himself, and to bring 
the smile back into the tear-stained face. I watched the face 
during the speaking. The wide eyes, the parted lips, the 
whole rapt being said that the breathless audience was for- 
gotten, but her spirit was moving with his. 

And when the address was ended, with the ardent abandon 
of one who catches enthusiasm in the realization that he is 
fighting down a wrong judgment and conquering a sympathy, 
the effect was really thrilling. That dignified audience broke 



PERSONATION OR CHARACTER SKETCHING 265 

into rapturous applause ; bouquets intended for the valedictorian 
rained like a tempest. And the little child who had helped to 
save the day — that one beaming little face, in its pride and 
gladness, is something to be forever remembered. 

— Sarah Wi?iter Kellogg. 

Direct and Indirect Discourse- 



When a speaker or writer wishes to be more intense 
in the presentation of his picture he then combines 
Narrative with elements of the actual occurrence. 
This will be Indirect Discourse. It will be evident 
at once that all things cannot come under this kind 
of language nor under Direct Discourse. But on the 
other hand all things may be described. Narrative or 
description is broader in its application, but has less 
power. To come under Indirect or Direct Discourse 
there must be something of animate life in the picture 
presented. Since in Indirect Discourse the object of 
the speaker is to vivify the scene more than in the 
Narrative, or Descriptive, he must use stronger ele- 
ments of expression to impress this on the mind of 
the auditor. This strength of presentation lies in Semi- 
personation. In this we assume some of the attributes 
of the original actor of the scene ; for example, some of 
his facial expressions, attitudes of body, movements, and 
tones of voice. But none of these will be as vital as in 
Direct Discourse. A study of literature will show what 
a variety of style is used. The student wall see that a 
production is seldom all Direct or all Indirect Discourse, 



266 PERSONATION OR CHARACTER SKETCHING 

but that these elements are interspersed throughout 
the selection. "The Raven," by Edgar A. Poe, is an 
excellent example of semipersonation. 

In the selection, " Marmion and Douglas," the In- 
direct Discourse and the Direct Discourse are pointed 
out. In preparing the Indirect Discourse, the student 
will be more successful if a Semipersonation, or Semi- 
dramatization, is used in the delivery. 

Direct Discourse is the strongest style of speech. 
The speaker endeavors to give an exact reproduction 
of the occasion, or scene. He reproduces the exact 
language, and in such a way that the speaker is looked 
upon by the auditor as the same person that took part 
in the drama. It is the intention of the writer that the 
attitudes of body, gestures, facial expression, and voice, 
all shall combine to picture to the auditor the person's 
mental state as well as physical. 

It may be a picture of pathos, or of some form of anger 
or humor, or of some striking personage, old or young. 
As the mental states give birth to distinctive language 
forms, as well as bodily attitude, the student must study 
carefully the author's forms of language so as to de- 
termine the mental condition of the person pictured. 
The expression of this language form should be full 
dramatization, or personation. 

Some of the following selections are examples of 
complete personation, or character sketching. It 
must be remembered that the average or normal 
individual is not a character. A character for per- 



PERSONATION OR CHARACTER SKETCHING 267 

sonation is some eccentric person, some one out of the 
ordinary walk of life, possessing some peculiarity, odd. 



Complete 
Personation. 



Indirect 
Discourse. 
Semi- 
personation. 



Direct 
Discourse. 
Complete 
Personation. 



Direct 

Discourse. 

Anger. 

Complete 

Personation. 



QUARREL OF MARMION AND DOUGLAS 

The train from out the castle drew, 
But Marmion stopped to bid adieu : — 

" Though something I might plain" he said, 
" Of cold respect to stranger guest, 
Sent thither by your king's behest, 

While in Tantallon's towers I stayed, 
Part we in friendship from your land, 
. And, noble Earl, receive my handy 

But Douglas round him drew his cloak, 
Folded his arms, and thus he spoke : — 

\ " My manors, halls, and bowers shall still 

Be open, at my sovereign's anil, 

To each one whom he lists, hozae'er 

Unmeet to be the owner } s peer ; 
\ My castles are my king's alone, 

From tin-ret to foundation stone, — 

The hand of Douglas is his own, 

And never shall in friendly grasp 
[ The hand of such as Marmion clasp." 

Burned Marmion's swarthy cheek like fire, 

And shook his very frame for ire, 
f And — " This to me ! " he said, — 

"An 'tivere not for thy hoary beard 
J Such hand as Marmion's had not spared 
To cleave the Douglas' head ! 

And, first, I tell thee, haughty peer, 






268 PERSONATION OR CHARACTER SKETCHING 



Direct 

Discourse. 

Anger. 

Complete 

Personation. 



Anger. 

Complete 

Personation. 



He who does England 's message here, 
Although the meanest in her state, 
May well, proud Angus, be thy mate / 
And, Douglas, more I tell thee here, 

Even in thy pitch of pride, 
Here in thy hold, thy vassals near, 
(Nay, never look upon your lord, 
And lay your hand upon your sword,) 

I tell thee, thou'rt defied 7 
And if thou saidst I am not peer 
To any lord in Scotland here, 
Loiuland or Highland, far or near, 

Lord Angus, thou hast lied / " 
On the Earl's cheek the flush of rage 
O'ercame the ashen hue of age : 
f Fierce he broke forth, — " And dar'st thou then 
To beard the lion in his den, 

The Douglas in his hall? 
- And hofst thou hence unscathed to go ? 
No, by St. Bride of Bothwell, no ! 
Up drawbridge, grooms ! — What, warder, ho ! 

Let the portcullis fall" 
Lord Marmion turned, — well was his need ! — 
And dashed the rowels in his steed, 
Like arrow through the archway sprung ; 
The pondrous grate behind him rung : 
To pass there was such scanty room, 
The bars descending, grazed his plume. 



The steed along the drawbridge flies, 
Just as it trembled on the rise ; 



PERSONATION OR CHARACTER SKETCHING 269 



Complete 
Personation. 



Not lighter does the swallow skim 

Along the smooth lake's level brim ; 

And when Lord Marmion reached his band, 

He halts and turns with clenched hand, 

And shout of loud defiance pours, 

And shook his gauntlet at the towers. 

"Horse! horse ! " the Douglas cried, "and chase!" 

But soon he reigned his fury's pace : 

" A royal messenger he came, 

Though most unworthy of the name. 

***** 

" St. Mary, mend my fiery mood ! 

Old age ne'er cools the Douglas blood, 

I thought to slay him where he stood. 

'Tis pity of him, too" he cried ; 

" Bold can he speak, and fairly ride, 

. I warrant him a warrior tried." 

With this his mandate he recalls, 

And slowly seeks his castle walls. 

— Sir Walter Scott. 
RIZPAH 

The long, bright day of harvest toil is past, 

The fragrant sheaves are bound, the reapers 

gone, 
Slowly from out the west the yellow rays of 
Ripening sunshine die, hushed are song and 

jest; 
Down cloudy pathway walks the coming night, 
Casting mysterious shadows in her way, 
Shadows that fill each sense with vague alarm, 
More frightful for their very nothingness. 



270 PERSONATION OR CHARACTER SKETCHING 



The atmos- 
phere here 
is Indirect 
Discourse. 
The Expres- 
sion is Semi- 
personation. 



f Look, how the shrinking moon creeps up the skies, 
Holding with trembling hand her silver lamp, 
Hiding her face behind a filmy vail, 
As if she dared not look upon the sight 
Of the dread something which her light reveals. 
See, see ! On Gibbeah's hill, what phantoms rise, 
Swinging and swaying idly to and fro, 
Against the mantle of the startled night, 
Like nameless terrors creeping through a dream. 
Great Heaven ; those shapes are men / 
See how they hang within the shadows of the 

shivering trees, 
Like haunting ghosts, between fair earth and 

heaven, 
Men, with stony eyeballs looking down, 
Soulless and lifeless into other eyes — 
Eyes full of mother love gone mad with tvoe. 
Sure earth below, or pitying heaven above, 

{ Saw never sight so strangely pitiful. 
Rizpah, her poor, gray tresses all unbound, 
Each nerve and muscle held by mighty will, 
Fearless in all her agony of love, 
Guarding her precious dead against the vultures, 
Tossing her thin, bare arms with gestures wild, 
To fright them as they whirl and circle low, 
With flapping wings and harsh, discordant cries, 
Eager to taste the horrid feast of death. 
Hark ! how the frenzied voice disturbs the night, 
And look how grief and dread have marked her 

face 
With awful lines of passionate despair. 



PERSONATION OR CHARACTER SKETCHING 27 1 



The atmos- 
phere here 
is Direct 
Discourse. 
The Expres- 
sion is full 
Personation. 



" Back ! Back ! ye shall not touch one shining 

hair, 
Or fan the poor, dead cheeks with poisonous 

wings. 
What can ye do with aught so fair ? 
Go ! find your prey amid u?iho/ier things. 
Back ! let your sickening greed elsewhere be fed, 
A mother watches o'er this precious child ; 
Mine own, mine only ! Why, alas ! do I, 
I, in whose sluggish veins the life moves slow, 
Still cumber earth 's fair ways, while ye must die 
In all the strength of manhood's lusty glow ? 
Why might not I for broken vows atone, 
And give this life for thine, mine own, mine own ? 

patient God ! was ever sight like this ? 

My sons, my sons ! Are those the love-lit eyes 
Whose merry glances warmed my heart like 

wine ? 
Are those the cheeks once bright with life's rich 

dyes ? 
Those the red lips whose sweetness clung to mine ? 
Is it a dream ? Still I wake, erewhile 
Wake to their living glance and touch and smile, 
They were my babes once ; they used to lie 
With soft lips murmuring at my love-warm 

breast, 
Cooing sweet answers to the lullaby 

1 sang to put them to their cradle rest. 
Listen ! upon the night winds, clear and low, 
Come fragments of that song of long ago. 
'Twas thus I sung — a foolish little strain — 



272 PERSONATION OR CHARACTER SKETCHING 



The atmo- 
sphere here 
is Direct 
Discourse. 
The Expres- 
sion is full 
Personation. 



Yet babes and mothers love such music well, 

E'en now its cadence soothes my restless brain, 

Listen : ' Sleep, sleep, the south wind softly blows, 

Rocking the bee in the thornless rose, 

The baby birds have gone to bed, 

The drowsy bluebell hangs its head ; 

Bluebell and baby, bee and rose, 

Sleep, the south wind softly blows, 

The tide ebbs, the tide flows, 

Night comes, but night goes, 

Sleep ! Sleep ! ' " 

Thus night and day, her wild, sad watch went on, 

And none could win her from her loving task. 

At length the barley sheaves were gathered home, 

And once again the dry skies rained soft tears, 

As if in sorrow for her tearless woe, 

And pitying heaven made man more pitiful. 

King David's heart grew tender at the sight, 

And, filled with wonder at her mighty love, 

He took her precious dead with reverent hands, 

Enfolded them with costly cerements, 

Wet with the baptism of her grateful tears, 

More fragrant than all the balms and spices fine, 

And gave them sepulcher with kindred dust. 

Then Rizpah's work was finished. She arose, 

Folded her sackcloth tent, and went her way, 

Down through the valley to her childless home. 

Poor, waiting Rizpah ! 

After many days death came to her. 

'Twas twilight in the harvest time again ; 

She seemed to slumber, 



Full 
Personation. 



PERSONATION OR CHARACTER SKETCHING 273 

When she clasped her arms, 

As if she held a baby at her breast, 

And sung this fragment of a cradle song : 

Sleep ! the south wind softly blows, 

The tide ebbs, the tide flows, 

Night comes, but night goes, 

Sleep! Sleep!" 

Then Rizpah slept. — Lucy Blinn. 

Humorous Characterization . 

ARGUMENT PRO 

Why should a body " bellar " if a body get a kiss? 

There's no harm done in committing such a simple theft as this. 

And 'tis wrong to dim the luster of a body's eyes with tears ; 

If a body feels indignant, let her box a body's ears. 

That would haunt a body's memory and make a body sigh, 

When he thought of stealing kisses coming through a field of rye. 

If a body meet a body coming through a field of rye, 

With lips as red as cherries, and a glad and laughing eye, 

How can a body help it if a body kiss her there, 

Though he knows 'twill call the blushes to her face so young 

and fair, 
And 'twould ruin all the pleasure of the stolen kiss (oh, fie), 
If a body kiss a body, sure a body shouldn't cry. 

If a body kiss a body and a body turn about, 

With lips drawn up so haughty in a pretty little pout, 

And a face where, spite of anger, lovely crimson blushes play, 

And she glances at a fellow in a scornful, haughty way, 



274 PERSONATION OR CHARACTER SKETCHING 

And bids him, " Mind his business," with a proud and flashing 

eye, 
How he longs to steal another in that field of blooming rye. 

Those lips were made so ruby, I am very sure of this, 

Just to tempt a simple body to indulge a stolen kiss, 

As the floweret tempts the humming bird, the clover tempts 

the bee, 
Sure they never were intended just to sip a body's tea, 
And I know by sweet experience, the very reason why, 
If a body kiss a body, that a body shouldn't cry. 

Now suppose a body tripping through a field of blooming rye, 
In the lovely summer weather, 'neath the azure summer sky, 
And her voice in song is swelling, like a merry, happy bird, 
And she meets her happy lover, and she listens to his word, 
And he press the lips that sweetly ope to breathe a sweet reply, 
Oh, how foolish, very foolish, for a body then to cry. 

If a body kiss a body, and she takes the thing amiss, 
She can just invite a body to replace the stolen kiss, 
And a body can replace it, and 'twill make the matter right, 
And the trouble that existed will be settled (honor bright), 
'Twould be better, vastly better, than to have a useless cry, 
If a body kiss a body coming through a field of rye. 

Oh, to meet a body tripping through the rye some summer day, 
While around the rye is waving in the zephyr's wanton play, 
And to see her fight and struggle to defend her hoarded store, 
One would bet a goose and trimmings she was never kissed 

before. 
But kiss her at your leisure while she looks so sweet and sly, 
Oh, it makes one think that heaven is a field of blooming rye» 



PERSONATION OR CHARACTER SKETCHING 2?$ 

If a body kissed a body several thousand years ago, 

How does that affect the question, I would surely like to know ; 

'Tis no reason why a body, at this later modern day, 

Should be as big a ninny or as great a fool as they ; 

And in this present century, why should a body cry 

If a body meet a body coming through a field of rye ? 

But I think that ancient body were most wonderful precise, 
If a kiss could call the tear-drops to their good old pious eyes, 
But I have no doubt that kissing must have shocked them 

awful bad, 
Or a kiss would not have made them so very, very sad. 
But to all the numerous instances I have but one reply, 
Not one of them e'er happened coming through a field of rye. 

Then I think the matter settled that 'tis foolish and unwise, 
If a body kiss a body, thus to dim a body's eyes ; 
And I know a body wouldn't could a body only guess 
That all the stolen kisses didn't make them any less ; 
And I think our pretty maidens would not have a useless cry, 
If a body chanced to kiss them coming through a field of rye. 

— Edwin Randell. 

Old Man Character. 

AN EARLY MORNING CALL 

Bee-ull ! Bee-ull ! O Bee-ull ! my gracious, 
Air you still sleepin'? 
Th' hour hand's creepin' 
Nearder five. 






276 PERSONATION OR CHARACTER SKETCHING 

(Wal', durned ef this 'ere ain't vexatious !) 
Don't ye hyar them cattle callin' ? 
An' th' ole red steer a-bawlin'? 
Come, look alive ! 
Git up ! Git up ! 

Mar' Ann ! Mar' Ann ! (Jist hyar her snorin' !) 
Mar' Ann ! it's behoovin' 
Thet you be a-movin' ! 
Brisk, I say ! 
Hyar the kitchen stove a-roarin' ? 
The kittle's a-spilin' 
To git hisse'f bilin'. 
It's comin' day. 
Git up ! Git up ! 

Jule ! O Jule ! Now whut is ailin' ? 
You want ter rest? 
Wal', I'll be blest ! 

S'pose them cows 
'LI give down 'ithout you pailin'? 
You must be goin' crazy ; 
Er, more like, gittin' lazy. 
Come, now, rouse ! 
Git up ! Git up ! 

Jake ! you lazy varmint ! Jake ! Hey, Jake ! 
What you layin' theer fer? 
You know the stock's ter keer fer ; 
So, hop out ! 



PERSONATION OR CHARACTER SKETCHING 2JJ 

(Thet boy is wusser'n a rock to wake !) 
Don't stop to shiver, 
But jist unkiver 
An' pop out ! 

Git up ! Git up ! 

Young uns ! Bee-ull ! Jake ! Mar' Ann ! Jule ! 
(WaF, durn my orn'ry skin ! 
They've gone ter sleep agin, 
Fer all my tellin' !) 
See hyar, I hain't no time ter fool ! 
It's the las' warnin' 
I'll give this mornin'. 
I'm done yellin' ! 
Git up ! Git up ! 

Wal', whut's th' odds — an hour, more or less? 
Believe it makes 'em stronger 
Ter sleep a leetle longer 
Thar in bed. 
The time is comin' fas' enough, I guess, 

When I'll wish, and wish 'ith weepin', 
They was back up yender sleepin', 
Overhead, 

Ter git up. — John Boss. 

ME AND SALLY ANN 

More than forty years of sorrow, and of sunshine, and of gloom, 
H've sauntered through our kitchen and our settin' room, 
Leavin' tokens of their comin' with each particular year, 
Until I've grown baldheaded, 'ceptin' jest 'bove each ear 



278 PERSONATION OR CHARACTER SKETCHING 

Theie remains a lock of hair — sort of final scout ; 

It's grown old with watchin' while the rest was droppin' out. 

Though I've had my trials, bet there ain't a man 

That enjoyed his livin' better than just me and Sally Ann. 

I recollect it all yet, the way I used to go 

And 'scort her to the meetin', for I was Sally's beau, 

And take my place beside her ; and then I'd turn and smile, 

From my seat among the angels, at the boys across the 

aisle. 
One day the sermon opened by reading the command 
'At we all love one another ; and I reached for Sally's hand, 
And I axed her for to have me, and forgittin' of the crowd, 
I didn't think to whisper, — I axed her right out loud ! 
Well, the congregation sniggered, and the preacher said, " Hem ! 

hem ! " 
But I was after Sally, I didn't care for them. 
I kept right on a-axen, and Sally saw the bes' 
An' only way to choke me off was just to answer, "Yes." 
An' I'll bet there ain't a couple this side the golden stran' 
That lives the old days over more'n me and Sally Ann. 

The other day while musen, I happened just to think 
The way our courtship started, it started with a wink ; 
'An it seemed too tarnel silly, but law it didn't then, 
For life was all before me, and so was Sally Ann. 
An' oft I git to thinkin' 'bout the things I did and sed 
When I was courtin' Sally, an' lookin' far ahead 
'An plannin' for the future, as only lovers can, 
An' paintin' scenes of glory for me an' Sally Ann. 



PERSONATION OR CHARACTER SKETCHING 279 

It's more 'n forty years now, since me an' Sally Ann 

Had agreed to live together, an' I told the preachen man, 

Who stood up there before us an' axed us all the questions, 

Just like they always do, " You bet I'll care for Sally, 

I'll see that she gets thro'." 

An' then the preacher stopped awhile, and spozen he was 

done 
I sez, sez I to Sally, " He has only 'zamined one" 
'An turnin' round, I faced him, an' motioned with my han', 
" I say, now you are done with me, just 'zamin Sally Ann." 

Well, you ought to of heard them laughin' in the galleries and 

the aisle, 
An' Sal she took to grinnin', an' I had to sorter smile ; 
An' all the people sniggered, an' the female women laughed, 
An' the preacher sez, sez he to me, " You're most uncommon 

saft." 
'An' I sez, " I knows it, 'tain't no news to me ; 
I was born in thet condition, an' s'pose I'll always be." 
An' an old hard-heeren deacon sez, " What causes this, my 

man?" 
I bowed, and sez in thunder tones, " Jes' me an' Sally Ann." 

Pathos, Child Character. 

DAILY NEWS 

Buy a paper ? My, it's cold. Thank 'ee, sir : the first I've 

sold. 
What's my name, sir? Tom Green. Age? I'm goin' on 

sixteen. 



280 PERSONATION OR CHARACTER SKETCHING 

Live, sir? Down in Mulberry street. No, we don't get much 

to eat. 
Takes such heaps to pay the rent. Daily News, one cent? 

Father? Well, he's mighty queer : won't touch nothin', ale or 

beer, 
Straight along for three whole days : works at any job that 

pays. 
Then on a suddent, home he'll come, staggerin' ; full o' rum, 
Swearin' to his heart's content. Daily News, one cent? 

Mother? She don't drink just now. Her'n the old man's had 

a row. 
Met down stairs one night, you see, both as drunk as drunk 

could be. 
Pat Flinn got 'em apart that night. — Oh, but, murder, — they 

did fight. 
Such things ain't seen by a gent. — Daily News, one cent? 

Brothers? No, I ain't got none. Sisters? Yes, I onct had one. 
Mag's been gone three years in May. Poor old Mag ! She 

run away. 
Starvin' she could bear, but oh, how that girl did hate a blow. 
Then her patience all got spent. — Daily News, one cent? 

Fond o' Mag? I'd orter a been. We was friends through 

thick and thin. 
Some girls wouldn't 'a' staid so long, doin' right in bearin' 

wrong. 
My, she stood it fine till when father knocked her down, and 

then — 
Oh, don't ask me where she went. — Daily News, one cent? 



PERSONATION OR CHARACTER SKETCHING 28 1 

Boy's Character Sketch. 

SINCE PA SHAVED OFF HIS WHISKERS 

I haven't had sich jolly fun fur forty thousand years, 

Jes' laughed until I thought my eyes was runnin' out in tears, 

An' ma she slapped me on the back to help me ketch my 

breath, 
An' said she couldn't blame me if I laughed myself to death ! 
My ribs got sore like they was biles, my head got achin', and 
My inside fixin's hurt like they had more than they could stand. 
An' ev'ry time I see him yit I have to fetch a grin, 
Because he looks so orful queer with nothin' on his chin ! 

There never was a father's son 

That's had sich jolly roarin' fun 

As me since children was begun, 

Since pa shaved off his whiskers ! 

He blushed jes' like a giggly girl when he come home that 

night, 
An' ma she met him at the door an' nodded real polite, 
An' asked him if he'd not come in, a-lookin' of him o'er 
Jes' like she was a-wonderin' where she'd seed them clothes 

afore. 
She offered him the rockin' cheer an' asked him fur his hat, 
An' when she hung it up she looked suspiciously at that, 
An' him a-grinnin' all the time, an' her a-lookin' skeered, 
An' me a-sizin' of him up an' honestly afeared ! 

But when he looked almighty shy 

At me, an' winked his other eye, 

I yelled to bust : " Why, ma, the guy, 

It's pa shaved off his whiskers ! " 



282 PERSONATION OR CHARACTER SKETCHING 

Pa heaved back in the rockin' cheer an' fetched a big " Haw- 
haw ! " 
I had a real hysterics fit an' roared an' squealed, an' ma, 
She stood like she was paralyzed an' stared in stupid way, 
Jes' like to save her life, she couldn't think of what to say ! 
An' then she reached her fingers out and rubbed 'em on his 

chin, 
An' blamed if either one of 'em could do a thing but grin ! 
An' then she stooped and tuk a kiss, an' say, I'll jes' be 

blamed ! 
That orful naked mouth o' pa's looked like it was ashamed ! 

'Twas orful mean of me, I know, 

But I jes' had to laugh or go 

Insane, it paralyzed me so, 

When pa shaved off his whiskers ! 

When ma regained her consciousness I heerd her softly say : 
" Why, Willy um, you hain't looked so young fur many an' 

many a day ! 
Look somethin' like you useter look them times when me an' 

you 
Was courtin' up to married life, indeed, indeed you do ! " 
An' there she sot upon his knee a-feelin' of his chin, 
Jes' like they was a lovin' pair that wasn't any kin, 
An' me a-rollin' on the floor jes' like a dyin' calf, 
Fur every time I'd take a peek at pa I'd have to laugh ! 

But now he doesn't look so bad, 

An' never was a prouder lad 

Than me to have so young a dad, 

Since pa shaved off his whiskers ! 



PART TWO 
FOXONIAN SELECTIONS 

NIAGARA 

A study in Modulation and Melody. 

I stood on the bridge o'er the rapids 
And watched the mad waters flow, 

Dashing, smashing, splashing, 
On the rocks above, below. 

I watched them in their movements, 

As ceaselessly they swept ; 
Curling, purling, whirling, 

As from rock to rock they leapt. 

For minutes I stood with raptures, 
Hearing not but the noise of the flow, 

Treading, eddying, spreading, 
On the rocks above, below. 

As overcome by the grandeur 

Of that mighty cataract, 
Lashing, splashing, crashing, 

I said God reigns here in fact. 

283 



284 FOX ONI AN SELECTIONS 

I could not keep from thinking 
How feeble is man's might, 

Spanning, manning, planning, 
From morn until the night. 

I stood there silent, speechless, 
And waters around me fell, 

Moaning, groaning, foaming, 
As if their thoughts to tell. 

But not a word was spoken, 

Only the waters' ceaseless roar, 

Soaring, roaring, pouring, 

As they reached from shore to shore. 

I thought of the many thousands 
Who have seen the waters leap, 

Frisking, twisting, misting, 
And falling in a heap. 

I thought of the many mortals 

As they watched the wondrous sight, 

Creeping, meeching, sweeping, 
Leap into the maddening flight. 

I thought of the demented victim, 
Made mad by the waters' stride, 

Whirling, twirling, swirling, 

As he leaped into the roaring tide. 



FOXONIAN SELECTIONS 285 

Would he regain his senses 

Ere he should reach the ledge, 
Jostling, tossing, hustling, 

On the brink of the waters' edge ? 

I wondered what he thought 

When he touched the waters' crest, 

Sputtering, muttering, fluttering, 
And he floated on its breast. 

Yet life is like this river, 

Beginning smooth and bright, 
Gliding, widening, sliding, 

From morn until the night. 

We are tossed about in the journey 
Like a chip on the billows' wave, 

Bounding, floundering, sounding, 
Until we reach the grave. 

But when we reach the whirlpool, 

If we have withstood the test, 
Carefully, prayerfully, joyously, 

We will reach the Father's rest. 

— Frank S. Fox. 

ONLY A STEP 

Tis only a step from the cherub's home 

To the earth where sins prevail. 
Only a step from happiness 

To where despair and doubts assail. 



286 FOXONIAN SELECTIONS 

Only a step from baby land 
To the realms of childish glee ; 

'Tis only a step from servitude 
To the world where all are free. 

Only a step from childhood thoughts 
To where man's struggles begin. 

Only a step, a psychic step, 

To where doubts come straggling in. 

Only a step from worthlessness 

To the life of earnest help. 
Only a step from nothingness 

To make our influence felt. 

Only a step from palatial home 
To the cabin where want is rife. 

Only a step from Golconda wealth 
To the miserable beggar's life. 

Only a step from the land of life 

Into the valley of death. 
Only the length of a heart beat, 

Only the space of a breath. 

Only a step, an instant's flight ; 

Comprehend it, Soul, if you can. 
Only a step from this unstable life 
, To the Judgment bar of the better land. 



FOX ONI AN SELECTIONS 287 

Only a step from childhood to age ; 

Ye cannot turn from the fateful road. 
Prepare you then the Journey to tread, 

Strap on your armor, take up the load. 

Only a step across fate's arc 
• Man's soul must take, do not dismay. 
There are parting paths, choose ye to-day ; 
To-morrow the infinite, changeless way. 

— Frank S. Fox. 

OVER THE RIVER 

Over the river they beckon to me, 

Loved ones who crossed to the other side, 
The gleam of their snowy robes I see, 

But their voices are drowned by the rushing tide. 
There's one with ringlets of sunny gold, 

And eyes the reflection of heaven's own blue, 
He crossed in the twilight gray and cold, 

And the pale mist hid him from mortal view. 
We saw not the angels that met him there — 

The gate of the city we could not see ; 
Over the river, over the river, 

My brother stands, waiting to welcome me. 

Over the river the boatman pale 

Carried another, the household pet ; 
Her brown curls waved in the gentle gale — 

Darling Minnie ! I see her yet ! 



288 FOXONIAN SELECTIONS 

She closed on her bosom her dimpled hands, 

And fearlessly entered the phantom bark ; 
We watched it glide from the silver sands, 

And all our sunshine grew strangely dark. 
• We know she is safe on the further side, 

Where all the ransomed and angels be ; 
Over the river, the mystic river, 

My childhood's idol is waiting for me. 

For none return from those quiet shores, 

Who cross with the boatman cold and pale ; 
We hear the dip of the golden oars, 

And catch a glimpse of the snowy sail ; 
And lo ! they have passed from our yearning hearts, 

They cross the stream and are gone for aye. 
We may not sunder the vail apart 

That hides from our vision the gates of day. 
We only know that their barks no more 

Sail with us o'er life's stormy sea ; 
Yet somewhere, I know, on the unseen shore, 

They watch and beckon and wait for me. 

And I sit and think when the sunset's gold 

Is flushing the river and hill and shore, 
I shall one day stand by the waters cold 

And list to the sound of the boatman's oar. 
I shall watch for a gleam of the napping sail ; 

I shall hear the boat as it gains the strand ; 
I shall pass from sight with the boatman pale 

To the better shore of the spirit land. 



FOXONIAN SELECTIONS 289 

I shall know the loved who have gone before, 
And joyfully sweet will the meeting be, 

When over the river, the peaceful river, 
The angel of death shall carry me. 

— Nancy A. W. Priest. 

MAN'S MORTALITY 

This poem is a fine study in Modulation. Be sure you get it musical, but not 
singsong. — F. S. F. 

Like a damask rose you see, 

Or like a blossom on a tree, 

Or like the dainty flower in May, 

Or like the morning to the day, 

Or like the sun, or like the shade, 

Or like the gourd which Jonah made ; 

Even such is man, whose thread is spun, 

Drawn out and out, and so is done. 

The rose withers, the blossom blasteth, 
The flower fades, the morning hasteth, 
The sun sets, the shadow flies, 
The gourd consumes, the man — he dies. 

Like the grass that's newly sprung, 
Or like the tale that's new begun, 
Or like the bird that's here to-day, 
Or like the pearled dew in May, 
Or like an hour, or like a span, 
Or like the singing of the swan ; 
Even such is man, who lives by breath, 
Is here, now there, in life and death. 



290 FOX ONI AN SELECTIONS 

The grass withers, the tale is ended, 
The bird is flown, the dew's ascended, 
The hour is short, the span not long, 
The swan's near death, man's life is done. 

Like to the bubble in the brook, 
Or in a glass much like a look, 
Or like the shuttle in weaver's hand, 
Or like the writing on the sand, 
Or like a thought, or like a dream, 
Or like the gliding of the stream ; 
Even such is man, who lives by breath, 
Is here, now there, in life and death. 
The bubble's out, the look forgot, 
The shuttle's flung, the writing's blot, 
The thought is past, the dream is gone, 
The waters glide, man's life is done. 

Like an arrow from a bow, 

Or like a swift course of water flow, 

Or like the time 'twixt flood and ebb, 

Or like the spider's tender web, 

Or like a race, or like a goal, 

Or like the dealing of a dole ; 

Even such is man, whose brittle state 

Is always subject unto fate. 

The arrow shot, the flood soon spent, 
The time no time, the web soon rent, 
The race soon run, the goal soon won, 
The dole soon dealt, man's life soon done. 



FOX ONI AN SELECTIONS 29 1 

Like to the lightning from the sky, 

Or like a post that quick doth hie, 

Or like a quaver in a song, 

Or like a journey three days long, 

Or like snow when summer's come, 

Or like a pear, or like a plum ; 

Even such is man, who heaps up sorrow, 

Lives but this day, and dies to-morrow. 

The lightning's past, the post must go, 
The song is short, the journey so, 
The pear doth rot, the plum doth fall, 
The snow dissolves, and so must all. 

— Translated by Dr. Donovan. 

BABY'S WELCOME 

One blustery day in October, 

A dear little baby came 
To claim a place in our household, 

A share of our hearts, and a name. 

With the welcome that we gave her 

She could not find a fault ; 
Wallace expressed his pleasure 

By turning a somersault. 

Louise stood in the corner 

And smiled at the little maid ; 
She wanted to hug and kiss her, 

And was just a little afraid. 



292 FOX ONI AN SELECTIONS 

" Shall we keep her ? " said papa, 
" Or shall we send her away ? " 

" Oh, since she is here," said mamma, 
" We had better let her stay. 

" 'Tis true she forgot her wardrobe, 
For her board she cannot pay ; 

But when the heart is willing 
We can always find a way. 

" The house is plenty large enough, 
And mamma's heart is wide ; 

So with the other children 
We'll place her side by side." 

So she rules us with love's scepter 

Held in her tiny hand ; 
And we're all of one opinion, 

That Baby Pauline's grand. 

And we, her willing subjects, 
Run at her beck and call ; 

And home without the baby 
Would not be home at all. 

And we'll daily thank our Father, 
Who sent her from above 

To rule our little household 
By the gentle power of love. 



FOX ONI AN SELECTIONS 293 

And we pray He'll always keep her 

Gentle, kind, and mild, 
And when she is a woman 

As pure as when a child. 

And we, her brother and sister, 

Must help her on her way ; 
We tread the path before her, 

She follows every day. 

So we'll ask Him to help us, 

And teach to us the way, 
That we at last may gather 

Where it is always day. 

— Mrs. Beatrice A. Fox. 

RISE ABOVE IT 

Why become a slave to chance ? 
Why be crushed by circumstance ? 
Rise above it and advance 

Over all adversity. 
You're a king and can create 
For yourself your own estate ; 
You are master of your fate ; 

You are free. 

All of this is ancient lore, 
Often has been said before, 
But I'll tell it o'er and o'er, 

Sing it to the heart of youth. 



294 FOXONIAN SELECTIONS 

Howsoever long 'tis told, 
'Tis a lesson never old, 
For it bears a thread of gold — 
It is truth. 

Rise above the petty things 

That would bind your spirit wings ; 

Hear the inner voice that sings 

Songs of beauty all the while. 
Drive the demon of despair 
From your heart ; and, free and fair, 
Meet the broods of Grief and Care 

With a smile. 

Circumstances make us not ; 
Life is substance to be wrought 
In the workshop of our thought ; 

We can mold it as we will. 
All the hardships that affright, 
If we brave them, take their flight, 
They are tests to try our might 

And our skill. 

Be not buffeted about 

By the things that lie without ; 

Be not ruled by fear and doubt ; 

Dare to worship toward the dawn ; 
Dare believe in truth and right ; 
Dare to seek a higher light ; 
And the wisdom infinite 

Follow on. 



FOXONIAN SELECTIONS 295 

Spite of calumny and threat, 

Dare to have a purpose set, 

Keep it ; and do not forget 

You are monarch of your own. 

Dare pursue, against the stream, 

Your ideal and your dream. 

Keep your soul a king supreme 

On his throne. 

— F. A. Edgerton. 

PAULINE 

The angels all sang in Heaven 
And played on harps of gold, 
Shouted the Heavenly chorus, 
" We will bear to earthly fold 
A mite from the Heavenly Father 
With love and soul divine, 
To help the earthly children 
Kneel at the Holy Shrine." 

They took up the little midget 
On wings of downy white, 
And launched in the blue ethereal 
For that long earthward flight. 
They met in their sacred journey 
The stork with mouth so wide, 
Who took the fair little cherub 
From its angelic ride. 



296 FOXONIAN SELECTIONS 

The good stork sailed and flew and sailed 

As far as eye could ken, 

And reached the home of the parents 

At thirty and six p.m. 

Then there was joy and gladness 

In that small earthly home, 

And a vow to do their duty 

To return the mite to the Throne. 

— Frank S. Fox. 

AN ODE TO THE FULL MOON 

Come, oh, come, effulgent moon, 
Thou canst not appear too soon, — 
Come, and fill the gloomy night 
With thy mild and radiant light, 
With thy sweet enchanting ray 
Turn the hideous night to day. 

Closely guard with watchful eye 
The lonely hours as they go by, 
For thine it is to vigils keep 
While the earth is wrapt in sleep, 
Safely lead thy comrade through 
The livelong night, to daylight new. 

Guard the innocent of earth, 
That they fall not from their worth, 
Frown upon the fiend that plies 
Unholy craft when daylight dies, — 
Frown upon earth's common foe, — 
That tyrant of dark pit below. 



FOX ONI AN SELECTIONS 297 

To me art constant change, although 
Of changes thou dost nothing know, 
From crescent wax, till full again, 
Then back to crescent quickly wane ; 
Yes, wax and wane, so love does too, 
But true love this will never do ; 
Divine, immortal, sky-born flame, 
Never fading, burns the same. 

Let thy fullness much impart 

Gladness to my drooping heart, 

Cheer this fainting heart of mine 

With that silvery beam of thine, 

Attune my soul to joyful lay 

As the daylight fades away, 

Touch my life and make it be 

Fit for immortality. —G.G. Grunewald. 

LILIES OF THE VALLEY 

Look at the lovely lilies, 

Lilies so white and fair ; 
The valley is full of fragrance, 

It floats on the morning air. 
Lilies sweet of the valley, 

The first of the early spring, 
Kissed by the dew of May-time, 

What fragrant joys they bring. 

Gather them for sweet Pauline, 
Beautiful Pauline fair, 



298 FOXONIAN SELECTIONS 

To clasp in her dainty ringers 
And braid in her shining hair. 

Can there be any purer, 

Anything sweeter there, 
Than lilies of the valley 

Twined in sweet Pauline's hair ? 
Such is the ideal beauty, 

Such is the artist's dream ; 
See how her glad eyes sparkle, 

And countenance sweetly beams. 

Gather them for sweet Pauline, 
Beautiful Pauline fair, 

To clasp in her dainty fingers. 
And braid in her shining hair. 

Children are sweetest lilies, 

Flowers the whole year round ; 
Lightening all our footsteps, 

Cheering us with their sound. 
They are the sweetest flowers, 

Pure as the lilies there ; 
Pick Pauline joys of the valley 

And twine in her golden hair. 

Gather them for sweet Pauline, 
Beautiful Pauline fair, 

To clasp in her dainty fingers 
And braid in her shining hair. 

— Frank S. Fox. 



FOXONIAN SELECTIONS 299 

THE OLD-TIME SCHOOL DAYS 

There stands the old schoolhouse, 

With chimney 'most gone ; 
My teacher has left it, 

My boyhood has flown. 
The bricks of the corner 

Are battered and broke, 
They mark where the ball bat 

Left many a stroke. 

Oh, for my boyhood, 

And the old school again ; 
Where we teased the good teacher 

And oft caused him pain ! 
I long for my sweetheart, 

Of the days that are gone ; 
Though now she lives with me, 

In a home of our own. 

The bell's in the tower, 

As it was years ago ; 
And days that were wintry, 

'Twas pelted with snow. 
The windows seem smaller, 

The shutters are gone ; 
All seem to be changed, as 

I look here alone. 



300 FOXONIAN SELECTIONS 

I go in the schoolroom, 

Lo, what do I see ! 
The seats are all changed, 

And as clean as can be. 
The walls are all papered, 

No " wads " to be seen ; 
I fear I am living 

To-day in a dream. 

The teacher so gentle, 

So kind and so neat ; 
Each scholar with clean face, 

Is found in his seat. 
Yes, forty years, truly, 

Have changed things about; 
But I love the old schooldays, 

When we put teacher out. 

The bright cheery faces, 

The glad smiles that beam, 
All say to me surely, 

Love reigns here supreme. 
But still I keep thinking 

And it makes me feel glad, 
Although we were sportive, 

We were not very bad. 



So, if at each Christmas 
We put teacher out, 



FOXONIAN SELECTIONS 301 

Never heeding his threats 

To put us to rout ; 
Although times have so changed, 

That peace is supreme, 
We know we did study, 

Though now crude it may seem. 

— Frank S. Fox. 

OUR BABY SISTER 

This is our new baby sister. 
Isn't she a little pet ? 
She's so very young and tiny 
That she cannot talk as yet. 

When we talk, she looks and listens ; 
I believe she understands, 
For she smiles at us so sweetly, 
Waving her wee baby hands. 

When she came, I cannot tell you, 
With her pretty soft blue eyes; 
Mamma says she must have tumbled 
Down one evening from the skies. 

Pauline knows, but when we ask her, 
She looks wise and sucks her thumb ; 
Still, she's our new baby sister, 
And we love her, now she's come. 

— Beatrice A. Fox. 



302 F OXONIAN SELECTIONS 



BE FRIENDS NOW 



Do not keep the alabaster boxes of your love and 
tenderness sealed up until your friends are dead, but 
fill their lives with sweetness now. Speak approving 
and cheering words while their ears can hear them, and 
their hearts be thrilled and made happy thereby. The 
kind things you will say after they are gone, say be- 
fore they go. Give me here, while the days last, faith- 
ful friends to cheer me on the rugged pathway. Let 
me go down into the dreamless dust without a requiem 
and my narrow house be unmarked, if I must choose 
between these and friends here. 

The flowers you would strew upon their coffins be- 
stow now, and so brighten and sweeten their earthly 
homes before they leave them. 

If my friends have alabaster boxes laid away, full of 
sweet sympathy and affection, which they intend to 
break over my dead body, please bring them out nozv, 
in my weary, troubled hours, that I may inhale their 
sweet fragrance and be cheered while I so much need 
it. Give me a plain coffin without a flower, a funeral 
without a eulogy, rather than a life without the sweet- 
ness of human love and sympathy. 

Let us anoint our friends while living, as post mortem 
kindness does not cheer the spirit of the departed ; 
neither do flowers strewn o'er coffins " shed their fra- 
grance backward over the weary pathway traveled by 
him who now sleeps in the silent chamber of death." 



FOXONIAN SELECTIONS 303 

NATALIS 

He came unnamed, unhonored, and unsung, 
And the angel band the harps unstrung, 
As forth from the Father's realm of light 
They led this tiny human mite. 
But he's quite welcome to each heart ; 
May the days be many e'er we part. 
And when the blessed Father of love 
Sends again His messengers from above 
To call him back to His realm so great, 
Before he closes the pillared gate, 
May his work on earth be nobly done, 
And his crown of righteousness loyally won, 

By Robert. 

— Frank S. Fox. 

THE PLAY 

The world is but a comic play, 

Where each one takes a different part ; 
There, on the stage, in costume gay, 

Shine prelates, — generals show their art ; 
While we, vile people, sit below, 

A futile herd of no account ; 
For us the actors come and go, 

We pay to them a small amount, 
And when the farce provokes no mirth 
We hiss to get our money's worth. 

— Russell S. Taft. 



304 FOXONIAN SELECTIONS 

LATER ON 

There'll be kicks about the heat — later on; 
There'll be growls from all we meet — later on ; 
Every fellow will declare, that it's mighty hard to bear 
And will wish for chilly air — later on. 

They will oft express regret — later on ; 

When the brows and cheeks are wet — later on ; 

The rude gibes they used to fling, at the backwardness 

of spring, 
And they'll yearn for winds that sting — later on. 

High the mercury will rise — later on ; 

And Old Sol blaze in the skies — later on ; 

And electric fans will whiz, and the soda founts will 

fizz, 
And the heat will fairly sizz — later on. 

They'll be sorry that they growled — later on ; 

And at fuel dealers scowled — later on ; 

For the man that sells them ice will exact a heavy price 

For a measly little slice — later on. 

Bear in mind it will be hot — later on ; 

Comfort vainly will be sought — later on; 

So when springtime days are cold, don't about the 

weather scold, 
For there'll be heat uncontrolled — later on. 



FOX ONI AN SELECTIONS 305 

IN MEMORIAM OF PRESIDENT McKINLEY 

As monuments reared by grateful hands to the 
memory of heroes testify to the virtues of the living as 
to the services of the dead, so the sorrow that has over- 
whelmed our nation, obliterating the distinctions of party, 
race, and religion, is as complimentary to the patriotism 
of our people as to our departed chief magistrate. But 
it is not strange that the people bow as one over the 
bier of their illustrious fellow-citizen ; not strange that 
the solemn stillness is broken only by the sacred hymns 
which he was wont to sing, notwithstanding that all 
hearts turn in sympathy to the husbandless home at 
Canton. 

The President's position made him part of the life 
of all his countrymen, and the circumstances which at- 
tended his taking off added indignation to grief — indig- 
nation that even one murderous heart could be found in 
all the land, and grief that the wicked purpose of that 
heart has been consummated against one so gentle in 
spirit and so kind in word and deed. 

This is neither the time nor the place for a discus- 
sion of remedies for anarchy. It can have no defenders 
in the United States. Government is a necessity, and 
the delusion that society can exist without it is harmful, 
even when no violence is advocated. For it is the duty 
of every citizen of our republic to strive to make his 
government perfect in every detail, and this purpose is 
not only weakened entirely, but destroyed by the doc- 



306 FOX ONI AN SELECTIONS 

trine that all governments are bad and should be over- 
thrown. 

It is unfortunate that in the best of political contro- 
versy, partisanship sometimes becomes so strong as to 
cause injustice to be done the lives of political oppo- 
nents, and it should be our constant aim to place our 
campaigns on so high a political standard that the per- 
son will be eliminated and the turn made upon the 
principles involved. 

Let us hope that the national affliction which unites 
all factions in a common sorrow will result in a broader 
charity and a more liberal spirit among those who, by 
different policies and different parties, seek to provide 
the welfare and increase the glory of our common 
country. — William J. Bryan. 

TRUE PATRIOTISM 

What is patriotism ? Judging from the expression of 
many persons, it consists in standing around and with 
great determination saying, " what I would do if it were 
me." The expression, take notice, is always in the sub- 
junctive. With some other persons it seems to consist 
of rushing into print and parading before the eye of the 
reading public in full-faced type, "what I would do"; 
and with the most of them there it ends. 

The true patriot waits until the opportune time, and 
then acts without any boasting. True patriotism with 
some is innate ; with others it is acquired by actual expe- 
rience. Patriotism is the greatest bulwark of American 



FOX ONI AN SELECTIONS 307 

institutions, and should be rightly stimulated. The 
methods of imparting the principles of patriotism in 
our schools are not always the best. The pictures are 
too bloody. The pupil is led to think that patriotism 
is to be found only in war. They have confused 
in their minds patriotism and bravery and daring. 
Patriotism means self-sacrifice, dying for things they 
believe to be right in order to leave, untrammeled, 
untarnished, and unsullied to posterity, principles that 
are good and uplifting ; or it is defending a cause in 
order to protect others. A person may be brave and 
daring, but unpatriotic, because he is selfish. Many 
of the heroes of battles have been brave, have been 
daring, but have not always been patriotic. Napoleon 
Bonaparte was a brave man, a daring man ; but I ques- 
tion very much whether it can be truly said that he 
was a patriotic man. On the contrary, Frederick the 
Great was certainly patriotic as well as brave, because 
he fought for a principle that was right. He fought 
not for selfish ends as did Napoleon, but he fought for 
a belief that would be handed down to posterity and 
would help to revolutionize the world. Alexander the 
Great was a brave man, but certainly not very patriotic. 
Philip of Macedonia was brave and daring, but Demos- 
thenes was patriotic. One stood for principle ; the other 
fought for power, which was selfish. Washington of 
our own country was a patriotic man in the true sense 
of the word, because he was willing to lay down his life, 
he was willing to sacrifice his all, in defense of principles 



308 FOXONIAN SELECTIONS 

he believed to be right, and which were necessary to 
protect his own country. His after life proved that he 
was unselfish, because it was evident that he might have 
been king, but he spurned the very thought of such a 
thing. Benedict Arnold was brave and daring, but un- 
patriotic. When he fought he fought for glory, that 
his name might go down the centuries, but his after life 
proved that he was selfish, and not a true patriot. 
When Israel Putnam entered the wolf's den and shot 
him by the glare of his eye, that was daring ; when he 
crossed the path of the British and had to flee for his 
life down the precipitous stony way, that was bravery ; 
when he went on the battlefield, willing to pour out his 
blood for his fellow-countrymen regardless of honor, but 
in defense of the great principle of freedom, that was 
patriotism. 

We hear in these days of a great many people ready 
to go to war, but you talk to them about it, and there is 
uppermost in their minds that they wish to do something 
or see something that will bring glory to their names. 
That is not patriotism, that is selfishness. Such men as 
these are always willing to escape from the conflict, if 
there is an opportunity to do so unscathed. The act of 
the three hundred Spartans in holding the Persian army 
in check, and dying rather than surrender, thus filling 
the narrow pass so the enemy could scarcely get through, 
if at all, this was patriotism ; because they fought, not 
for self, not for glory, but for the protection of their 
homes, their people, their country. When Galileo was 



FOXONIAN SELECTIONS 309 

about to be banished because he said the world was 
round and that it did move, and he was willing to endure 
torture and banishment for the truth that he believed, 
rather than deny the truth, he was an example of a 
patriot. 

In order to teach patriotism, then, the child must have 
ingrafted into his mind that which is right. To implant 
within him the leading and strong desire to do right, to 
be right, and never vary from what he knows to be true, 
is the real object of teaching patriotism. 

— Frank S. Fox. 

WHAT IMPERIALISM MEANS 

Imperialism has come to be a word of great signifi- 
cance, and I am asked to state concisely and exactly 
what it means for American labor. I cannot do better 
than refer to a speech delivered to the students of the 
University of Michigan, before imperialism had become, 
as it is to-day, the dominant issue of our politics, and 
the gravest danger, in my judgment, that has ever 
threatened our republican form of government. 

As I said then, it is necessary to distinguish between 
"expansion" and "imperialism." Expansion has always 
signified the extension of our institutions through the 
enlargement of our frontiers. Imperialism is not the 
diffusion of American constitutionalism over new lands, 
but the establishment in conquered territory by this 
government of another government, radically irreconcil- 
able to the spirit of our own constitution and essentially 



310 F0X0NIAN SELECTIONS 

hostile to it. Expansion, then, may be defined as the 
peaceful development of our political system through 
an increase in the area of the United States, and impe- 
rialism as the forcible exercise by our government in 
other countries of powers denied to it at home. 

The marvelous growth of commerce between the 
States of the Union is due to its absolute freedom from 
artificial restrictions. The inclusion of Canada in this 
free-trade area would stimulate production beyond our 
powers to conceive. 

Exactly opposite results would be produced by impe- 
rialistic conquest. The forcible annexation of Canada 
would be an act of imperialism, as unprofitable as it 
would be unjustifiable, and as calamitous as it would be 
criminal. 

A conquered country is always discontented and, 
therefore, disloyal. It would be impossible to intrust 
the rights of statehood to a disaffected people. Our 
authority over them could be maintained only by force, 
that is to say, by a standing army and military rule. 

Aside from its inherent hostility to free institutions, a 
standing army is a crushing burden on the neck of the 
laborer. 

The first essential of high wages is abundance of 
commodities, and a standing army is an insuperable 
obstacle to extensive production. Every dollar of sur- 
plus product or capital invested in implements, in 
machinery, in buildings, is a fruitful dollar. Commodi- 
ties used in production multiply themselves even while 



FOX ONI AN SELECTIONS 311 

they perish. Every dollar expended for munitions of 
war is a sterile dollar. It is not used for the purpose 
of production, but for the purpose of destruction. It is 
wasted as completely as if it were thrown into the sea. 

I oppose this novel, un-American policy of imperialism 
because the grounds on which its advocates support it are 
puerile, inconsistent, and dishonest ; because it involves 
the existence of a standing army to menace liberty and 
to oppress labor by diminishing wages ; because it is 
cowardly to invade the rights of the weak while respect- 
ing those of the strong ; because it would divorce the 
American flag and the American Constitution by send- 
ing the one where the other cannot go ; because it is a 
policy of inconceivable folly from a material point of 
view, and a policy of unspeakable infamy from a mora) 
point of view. 

I favor the traditional American policy of expansion 
which leads to higher achievements of peace and prog- 
ress, because I want this country to remain the land 
where the patriotic workingman who produces is more 
honored than the paid fighting man who destroys ; 
where the laborer's overalls enjoy equal dignity with 
the soldier's uniform ; where a dinner pail is more highly 
esteemed than a knapsack ; where a spade is deemed 
more valuable than a musket, a hospital than a battery, 
a school than a fortress ; where the enduring glory of 
justice is pursued and the vainglory of conquest de- 
spised ; where the flag which typifies liberty and the 
constitution which secures it, enshrined in the hearts, 



3T2 FOX ONI AN SELECTIONS 

sustained by the arms, glorified by the memories of a 
free people, shall remain invincible, indestructible, in- 
separable, forever and forever. —Bourke Cochran. 

WHY DO WE VOTE 

Let us ask ourselves the question, What is the object 
of citizens' voting on election day ? From the stand- 
point of civics there is but one reason, and that is his 
right to say what he, as a citizen of the United States, 
desires shall be the governing element in this country. 
The right to vote is the most sacred of all privileges 
granted to a free American citizen. It is possibly safe 
to say that no other right of the American citizen is so 
little regarded and studied and acted upon properly, as 
should be done by true, moral citizens of these United 
States. 

What is the object of voting ? To express that which 
I want as a citizen in the government of this country. 
It then follows that the man who votes for what he 
wants, never loses his vote; If I am a Republican, 
and the Republican party stands for things in the gov- 
ernment that I do not want, and I vote that ticket, 
knowing this to be true, and that ticket wins, I have 
lost my vote as a citizen. If I belong to the Democratic 
party, and they indorse principles of government that I 
cannot conscientiously justify, and they win, I have lost 
my vote. If I should vote with a party whose prin- 
ciples are those which I want applied in this govern- 
ment, although they may lose in the election of their 



FOX ONI AN SELECTIONS 313 

candidates, / have not lost my vote ; on the contrary, I 
have done that thing which is expected of me as a 
citizen of this country, and which every one should care- 
fully consider when exercising the right of franchise. 

It is in voting that all citizens stand upon an equal 
footing ; the poorest financially, the humblest in influ- 
ence, has just as much power in his individual ballot as 
does the richest millionaire or the most potent political 
boss. The thing that is causing the thoughtful student 
of this government's affairs to look with some trepida- 
tion upon its future is the fact that there are so many 
citizens in this country who vote, not as citizens, but 
as hirelings. If there is one thing that ought to dis- 
franchise a man, it is the selling of his vote ; and not 
until the citizens of this country are thoroughly alive to 
their privileges and possess backbone enough to vote 
for principle rather than party, will we ever attain the 
ideal for which our forefathers laid the foundation. 

— Frank S. Fox. 

THE AMERICAN LIFE 

It is perfectly safe to say that ninety-nine men out of 
a hundred in civilized countries are opposed to war. 

Savages like to go to war ; we do not. 

We are farmers, mechanics, merchants, manufactur- 
ers, teachers, and all we ask is the privilege of attend- 
ing to our own business. We own our homes, love our 
friends, are devoted to our families, and do not inter- 
fere with our neighbors any more than is necessary ; 



314 FOX ONI AN SELECTIONS 

we have work to do, and wish to work while it is called 
the day. We recognize that life is short and the night 
cometh. Leave us alone. 

But they will not — these demagogues, politicians, 
and rogues intent on the Strenuous Life. We wish to 
be peaceful and want to be kind, but they say this life 
is warfare, and we must fight. 

But they will not leave us alone, these men who 
insist on governing us and living off our labor. They 
tax us, eat our substance, conscript us, draft our boys 
into the wars to fight farmers, whose chief offenses are 
that they wear trousers that bag at the knee and cul- 
tivate an objectionable style of whiskers. 

They call themselves the Superior Class. They live 
off the labor of our hands. They essay the task of 
governing us for a consideration. They deceive us, 
this Superior Class ; they hoodwink us ; they betray 
us ; they bulldoze us by the plea of Patriotism. 

They deceive us, and, oh, the infamy and the shame 
of it ! They deceive us in the name of the gentle 
Christ whose love embraced a world, and who dis- 
tinctly taught that war was wrong and that the only 
rule of life should be to do unto others as we would be 
done by. 

In order to establish a reason for their domination, 
this self-appointed Superior Class pretend to follow in 
the footsteps of Christ — they call themselves Christians. 

The Bible is the book we all talk about, but seldom 
read. We pay pew rent, and let other men explain the 



FOX ONI AN SELECTIONS 315 

Bible to us ; or if we read, we read with our eyes shut. 
The men in the pulpit claim to belong to the Superior 
Class, and they explain things to us on our agreement 
to grant them immunity from work. We supply them 
broadcloth suits, kid gloves, and high hats, and they 
teach us what they call truth, thus saving us the trouble 
of thinking for ourselves. 

They call themselves Christians, but Christ opposed 
war, never took up a collection, accepted no salary, 
founded no church, had no ritual, wore no miter nor 
robe of office. He did not belong to the Superior Class 
— did not ever take pains to associate with respectable 
people. He was a carpenter, who felt certain truths so 
intensely that he left his bench for a time, and went 
forth speaking to men in the streets, the market places, 
and by the seashore. 

And now this Superior Class, intent on taxing us, 
declare war and maintain standing armies in the name 
of this Man who had no fellowship with either armies, 
war, or the Superior Class. All the myriads of men 
who live off the government depend upon the govern- 
ment to tax us, and in order to tax us successfully, 
standing armies are maintained. The plea that the 
army is needed for the protection of the country is pure 
fraud and pretense. The French government affrights 
the people by telling them the Germans are ready and 
anxious to fall upon them ; the Russians fear the Brit- 
ish ; the British fear everybody ; and now in America 
we are told that we must increase our navy and add to 



316 FOXONIAN SELECTIONS 

our army, because Europe may at any moment combine 
against us. 

This is fraud and untruth. The plain people in 
France, Germany, England, and America are opposed 
to war. We only wish to be let alone. Men with 
wives, children, sweethearts, homes, aged parents, do 
not want to go off and fight some one. We are peace- 
able and wish to be kind ; we fear war ; we hate it. 

We would like to obey the Golden Rule. 

But the Superior Class will not have it so ; they pass 
conscription laws, and use the army thus conscripted to 
conscript other men. 

War is the sure result of the existence of armed men. 
That country which maintains a large standing army 
will sooner or later have a war on hand. The man 
who prides himself on fisticuffs is going some day to 
meet a man who considers himself a better man, and 
they will fight. Germany and France have no issue 
save a desire to see which is the better man. They 
have fought once — more than that, many times — and 
they will fight again. Not that the people want to 
fight, but the Superior Class can fright into fury, 
and make men think they must fight to protect their 
homes. 

The question is, how are we to relieve ourselves of 
these cormorants, who toil not, but who are clothed in 
broadcloth and blue with brass buttons and many costly 
accouterments ; who feed upon our substance, and for 
whom we delve and dig. 



FOX ONI AN SELECTIONS 317 

They have the money and the guns, and can hold 
out longer than we. 

But who composes this army that they would order 
to fire upon us ? 

Why, our neighbors — deceived into the idea that 
they are doing God's service by protecting their coun- 
try from its enemies, when the fact is, our country has 
no enemies save the Superior Class, that pretends to 
look out for our interests if we will only obey and con- 
sent to be taxed. 

Thus do they siphon our resources, and turn our true 
brothers upon us to subdue and humiliate us. You 
cannot send a telegram to your wife nor an express 
package to your friend nor draw a check for your gro- 
cer until you first pay the tax to maintain armed men, 
who can quickly be used to kill you, and who surely 
will imprison you if you do not pay. 

An army is a menace. 

America can never become the ideal republic — the 
home and refuge of all that is best in art and science, 
the fulfillment of the dreams of seers and prophets — 
unless we cease modeling our political policy after the 
rotting monarchies of Europe. Force expends itself 
and is gone ; every army is marching to its death ; 
nothing but a skull and skeleton fill helmet and cuirass ; 
the aggressor is overcome by the poison of his pride ; 
victory is only another name for defeat ; but the Spirit 
of Gentleness and Truth is eternal. Only by building on 
that can we hope as a nation to live. — Elbert Hubbard. 



318 FOX ONI AN SELECTIONS 

OUR NATIONAL PATRIOTISM 

We are distinctively a patriotic nation. Its bones, 
sinews, veins, and arteries are patriotic, and support 
and protect and enrich a liberty-loving heart. The 
great corner stone of the republic was union, right, and 
patriotism, on which was built the column which sup- 
ports the most powerful Goddess of Liberty. Our past 
and present history proves these facts. The Revolu- 
tion laid the foundation of liberty, independence, and 
patriotism. The War of 1812 established and com- 
pleted them, and the Mexican War asserted our sacred 
rights before the world ; the Civil War confirmed, 
proved, and established them. The present conflict 
with Spain is proclaiming them to the uttermost parts 
of the earth. Let us push the war in behalf of the 
dark island and downtrodden people of Cuba, from 
Havana to Manila, and prove to the monarchs that we 
are what we profess to be. With Dewey at Manila 
and Gomez in Cuba, and our magnificent fleet under 
Sampson and Schley on the American sea and our 
powerful army pressing the conflict on the land, we 
will write this proclamation of truth ; proclaiming it to 
the world, with bayonets and swords for pens, dipped, 
if need be, in patriotic blood ; writing in letters that 
blaze from the musket's muzzle and the cannon's mouth, 
punctuating our sentences with solid shot, shell, and 
canister; with Cuba Liber as the headlines, the ocean 
as the parchment, and the nations for a witness, we will 



FOXONIAN SELECTIONS 319 

complete this struggle, and confirm the truth to the 
most skeptical of the world that America is a country 
for the people, by the people, and of the people, and the 
most glorious of all the nations that has ever swayed 
an influence in tlie onward progress of the world 's 
civilization. — Frank S. Fox. 



THE NATION'S SECURITY 

Intelligent free laborers are working out the great 
problem of civilizing this continent. Intelligent fight- 
ing men are consolidating its government, and underly- 
ing all, the public schools are silently forming a sound 
national character. Free as air, vital as electricity, and 
vivifying as the sunlight, they act on the organic forces 
of the nation as these three physical agents build up the 
life of the globe out of inorganic matter. The insurrec- 
tion will be put down by the sword and the bayonet, 
treason will be rooted out by armed men, but then the 
only strength of the Union will be in a public opinion 
based on an intelligent comprehension of national affairs 
by the people of the whole nation. Unless the laws of 
the several states are administered by rulers chosen 
by electors whose ballots fall vitalized by intelligence, 
no standing armies, no constitutions, can hold them in 
harmonious spheres around the central sun of a repre- 
sentative government. They will shoot off in eccentric 
orbits into the unfathomable darkness of dissolution and 
chaos, never to return. It is a Prussian maxim, "What- 



320 FOX ON I AN SELECTIONS 

ever you would have appear in the life of the nation you 
must put into the schools." If the schools inculcate, 
with intellectual training, love of country, cordial sub- 
mission to lawful authority, moral rectitude, some 
knowledge of the theory and organic structure of our 
government, and a true spirit of patriotism, then shall 
our citizens be truly men, and our electors princes 
indeed. When I consider the power of the public 
schools, how they have disseminated intelligence in 
every village and hamlet and log house in the nation, 
how they are molding the plastic elements of the new 
generation into the symmetry of modern civilization, I 
cannot think that our country is to be included in the 
long list 

" Of nations scattered like the chaff 
Blown from the threshing floor of God." 

I hold nothing in common with those faint-hearted 
patriots who are beginning to despair of the future of 
our country. The latent powers of the nation are just 
coming into healthful and energetic action and, in spite of 
treason, are moving the republic onward and upward to 
a higher standpoint of liberty. What though it comes 
to us amid the storms of battle, and the shock of con- 
tending armies ! 

" Not as we hope ! — but what we are ! 
Above our feeble dreams and plans 
God lays with wiser hand than man's, 
The corner stone of liberty." 



FOXONIAN SELECTIONS 321 

The Anglo-Saxon race, even in ruder years, always 
possessed an inherent power of independence and self- 
government. Tell me not that now, when this stubborn 
vitality and surplus energy, expended so long in over- 
running the world, are guided by intelligence and refined 
by Christianity, this same race is to be stricken with palsy, 
because of a few years' war. The sixteen millions of boys 
and girls in the public schools, who constitute a great 
" league " electrified by intelligence, cemented by the 
ties of one blood, one language, one course of instruc- 
tion, strong in its power to perpetuate the Union, are the 
nation's sure defense. Long before the completion of 
the Pacific railroad, these new recruits, drilled in the 
public school, pushed their way across the continent, as 
the Saxons swarmed out from their northern hives, a vast 
army of occupation, cultivating these " national home- 
steads," and fortifying the whole line of communication 
by a cordon of schoolhouses that shall hold it forever 
as the heritage of free labor, free men, and a free 
nation. 

So shall the nation's pioneer go joyful on his way, 

To wed Penobscot's waters to San Francisco's bay ; 

To make the rugged places smooth, to sow the vales with 

grain, 
And bear, with liberty and law, the Bible in his train ; 
The mighty West shall bless the East, and sea shall answer 

sea, 
And mountain unto mountain call, Praise God, for we are 

free ! 



322 FOXONIAN SELECTIONS 

ETERNAL CLOCKWORK OF THE SKIES 

This is the longest sentence in American literature. — F. S. F. 

For all the kindreds and tribes and tongues of men, — 
each upon their own meridian, — from the Arctic pole 
to the equator, from the equator to the Antarctic pole, 
the eternal sun strikes twelve at noon, and the glorious 
constellations, far up in the everlasting belfries of the 
skies, chime twelve at midnight — twelve for the pale 
student over his nickering lamp — twelve amid the 
flaming wonders of Orion's belt, if he crosses the 
meridian at that fated hour — twelve by the weary 
couch of languishing humanity, twelve in the star- 
paved courts of the Empyrean — twelve for the heav- 
ing tides of the ocean ; twelve for the weary arm of 
labor, twelve for the toiling brain, twelve for the watch- 
ing, waiting, broken heart ; twelve for the meteor which 
blazes for a moment and expires ; twelve for the comet 
whose period is measured by centuries ; twelve for 
every substantial, for every imaginary thing, which 
exists in the sense, the intellect, or the fancy, and 
which the speech or thought of man, at the given 
meridian, refers to the lapse of time. 

— Edward Everett. 

THE ENGINEERS' MAKING LOVE 

It's noon when " Thirty-five " is due, 
An' she comes on time, like a flash of light, 
An' you hear her whistle, " Toot-tee-too ! " 
Long 'fore the pilot swings in sight. 



FOX ONI AN SELECTIONS 323 

Bill Maddon's drivin' her in to-day, 
An' he's callin' his sweetheart, far away — 
Gertrude Hurd — lives down by the mill — 
You might see her blushin' ; she knows it's Bill, 
" Tu-die ! Toot-ee ! Tu-die ! Tu ! " 

Six-five a.m. there's a local comes — 
Makes up at Bristol, runnin' east; 
An' the way her whistle sings an' hums 
Is a livin' caution to man an' beast. 
Every one knows who Jack White calls — 
Little Lou Woodbury, down by the Falls ; 
Summer or winter, always the same, 
She hears her lover callin' her name — 
" Lou-ie ! Lou-ie ! Lou-iee ! " 

At six-fifty-eight you can hear " Twenty-one " 
Go thunderin' west, and of all the screams 
That ever startled the rising sun, 
Jehu Davis sends into your dreams ; 
But I don't mind it ; it makes me grin — 
For just down here, where the creek lets in, 
His wife, Jerusha, can hear him call, 
Loud as a throat of brass can bawl — 
" Jeee-rooo-shee ! Jehoo ! " 

But at one-fifty-one old " Sixty-four " — 
Boston Express runs east, clear through — 
Drowns her rattle and rumble and roar 
With the softest whistle that ever blew ; 



324 E OXONIAN SELECTIONS 

An' away on the furthest edge of the town, 
Sweet Sue Winthrop's eyes of brown 
Shine like the starlight, bright an' clear, 
When she hears the whistle of Abel Gear — 
" You-ou-ou, Su-u-u-u-e ! " 

An' long at midnight a freight comes in, 
Leaves Berlin sometime — I don't know when 
But it rumbles along with a fearful din, 
Till it reaches the Y-switch there, and then 
The clearest notes of the softest bell 
That out of a brazen goblet fell, 
Wake Nellie Minton out of her dreams — 
To her like a wedding bell it seems — 
"Nell, Nell, Nell! Nell, Nell, Nell!" 

An' somewhere late in the afternoon, 
You'll see "Thirty-seven" go streakin' west; 
It's local from Hartford ; same old tune 
Now set for the girl that loves him best. 
Tom Wilson rides on the right-hand side, 
Givin' her steam at every stride ; 
An' he touches the whistle, low an' clear, 
For Lulu Gray, on the hill, to hear — 
"Lu-lu! Loo-Loo!" 

So it goes on all day an' all night, 
Till the old folk have voted the thing a bore ; 
Old maids and bachelors say it ain't right 
For folks to do courtin' with such a roar. 



FOXONIAN SELECTIONS 325 

But the engineers their kisses will blow 
From the whistle valve to the girls they know, 
An' the stokers the name of their sweethearts tell 
With the Belle ! Nell ! Dell ! of the swaying bell ! 

— Robert J. Burdette. 

THE CARPET-BEATIN' FEVER 

Has your woman got the fever? 
Does it threaten ne'er to leave her — 
Beatin' — carpet-beatin' fever ? 
Is your house all topsy-turvy 
Just as if you had the scurvy ? 

It's the carpet-beatin' fever ; 
'Tis a wonderful reliev-(h)er ; 
Let her keep it till it's over ; — 
Think she's in the deepest clover ; — 
Let her 'lone and play the rover. 

Husbands, warning, heed the rumor ; 
Steals upon 'em like a tumor ; 
Finds 'em in an awful humor ; — 
Ne'er can know when it will take 'em ; 
So get out and let 'em shake 'em. 

Noises of the beaters' bangin' ; 
Awful sounds of back yard swangin', 
Swishes, brooms, and carpets rusty, — 
All the men are sour and crusty, 
Each and every woman dusty. 



326 FOX ONI AN SELECTIONS 

Hark ! the craze is comin' nearer 
And the sound is growin' clearer ; — 
Don't you hear the awful clangin' 
Of that never-endin' whangin' ; 
Tis the carpet-beaters' bangin'. ' 

Fly ! man ! hide from wrath of women. 

Loaf, or bum, or go a-swimmin', — 

Anything to leave the women 

In the glory of this fever, 

Which so soon must surely leave her. 

Man, don't cut such foolish prances, — 
Don't you see those awful glances ? 
Leave your woman in her glory, 
Leave her rulin' every story ; — 
Dare say aught derogatory. 

Short the fever's fleet duration ; 
Then why not, in all the nation, 
Go away, — desert your station ; 
Leave your woman in the fever, — 
Awful, carpet-beatin' fever. 

- Let her beat 'em to her fancy ; — 
Don't be foolin', — don't get prancy ; — 
Give her time to do the clangin', 
Give her room to do the whangin', — 
Nasty, carpet-beatin' bangin'. 



FOXONIAN SELECTIONS 327 

Then return and meet your woman 
In the mansion where you're roomin', 
And you'll find her just a-bloomin' ; — 
Best of women, — never leave her, 
Foolish man to e'er deceive her, — 
Blessed, carpet-beatin' fever ! 

— Charles Manning Swingle. 

MICHAEL CASEY'S DESCRIPTION OF HIS FIGHT WITH 
ONEY GEIGEN 

" Well ! well ! well ! Casey, what's the matter 
again ? " 

"Oh, me boy, me boy, I was just licken' Oney 
Geigen." 

"What, little Oney Geigen ?" 

" Little ? Well, he's — he's little, but he's not small 
— that man." 

" Oh, he's a sick man." 

" Eh ? is he ? he's the wellest sick man you ever saw 
in your life. Why, that man there — his name is Oney 
Corbctt Geigen." 

" Well, say, how did you do it ? " 

" You know Geigen and I have always been friends 
together; now we are enemies apart." 

"Yes." 

" You know I went down to the wharf to take a fish 
in the water for fish." 

"Yes." 

" When me fish line was too short, I wanted to cut it 



328 FOXONIAN SELECTIONS 

longer. I felt in me pocket to found me knife and it 
was gone out of me pocket." 

" It was ? " 

" It was that. Well, then I had me suspicions and 
expectations towards Geigen right away." 

" Ye did ? " 

" I did. Says I to Geigen, ' You have me knife/ 
says I." 

" Says you ? " 

" Yes, ' Indeed you got it yourself,' says he." 

" Says he ? " 

" * You're another,' says I." 

" Says he ? " 

" No ! No ! No ! Says I ! Says I ! " 

"Oh." 

" ' It's no such thing,' says he. * You go down to the 
undertaker,' says I, ' and give him the date of your 
birth, and I'll take care of the other date meself and 
give him a job at the same time.' " 

" Says you ? " 

" Yes, sir. Well, then he says a sassy thing to me." 

" What did he say ? " 

" Says he, ' There'll be a funeral to-morrow, Casey, 
and you'll be in the front orchestra choir, and you'll 
know nothing about it.' " 

" Oh, that was sassy ? " 

"Yes. Then I got mad, and when I get mad, I get 
angry, and when I get angry, I lose me temper and I 
can't find it." 



FOX ONI AN SELECTIONS 329 

"Yes." 

"Well, I grabbed hold of him. I grabbed hold of 
him and wouldn't leave go of him, and I wrastled around 
like Billy Muldoon with him." 

"Ye did?" 

" Yes. Well, I pulled him down on top of me on the 
ground and I — I — I — I got up again. I got up again 
and I put my ear in his mouth and wouldn't leave go, 
and I gave him another thump with me face against 
his fist, and I — well I got up again and then says I, 
1 1 know where Fitzsimmons licked Corbett,' and I gave 
him a jab in the abdomen, and then, by golly, he gave 
me a kick in the eye, and that was contrary to the 
markins of Gooseberry rules, and so I told him to come 
over, be golly, to England, and I'd show him how to 
fight ; so I started and run around and run around and 
run around, him behind, and when I got him all tired 
out, then I licked him, but when I see him again I'll kill 
him." 

" Here he comes now, Mike." 

" Where ? Oh, where ? Let's get away. Let's get 
away." 

TO , WITH APOLOGIES TO BRYANT 

The melancholy days are come, 

The saddest of the year ; 

Of scrubbing pails and mops and brooms, 

And floors all damp and drear ; 



330 FOXONIAN SELECTIONS 

Of saddened men and wailing babes, 

And pleasant wives gone mad ; 

Of tacks and pins on every step, 

And paint that smelleth bad. 

Of sniffling nose and weeping eyes, 

And throats all raw and sore ; 

Of boots upon the parlor floor, 

And coats behind each door. 

Of scolding maids and bustling dames, 

And Peter strong and true, 

Who poundeth carpets on the grass, 

And maketh bright as new. 

Of feathers damp and mattress torn, 

And rag-bags gone astray ; 

Of naphtha soap and elbow grease, — 

You see it all to-day. 

But still, when comes that calm, mild day — 

As still such days must come — 

To thrill our hearts with merry lays 

And thoughts of " Home, Sweet Home," 

We'll all be glad the siege is past, 

No more we need to mourn. 

House cleaning now is o'er; 

Things assume their usual way, 

That cleanliness and order now 

Our modest home adorn. 

But to pick the fairest roses, 

We must also pluck a thorn. 

— Compliments of the Little Foxes. 



FOX ONI AN SELECTIONS 33 1 

THE WAYWARD SON 

I've got a letter, parson, from my son away out West, 

An' my old heart is heavy as an anvil in my breast, 

To think the boy whose future I once had proudly 

planned, 
Should wander through the path o' right an' come to 

sich an end ! 
I til' him when he left us, only three short years ago, 
He would find himself a-plowing in a mighty crooked 

row, 
He'd miss his father's counsel an' his mother's prayers, 

too ; 
But he said the farm was hateful an' he guessed he'd 

haf to go. 

I know thar's big temptation for a youngster in the 

West, 
But I believed our Billy had the courage to resist ; 
An' when he left I warned him of the ever waitin' 

snares, 
That lies like hidden sarpints in life's pathway ever- 

wheres ; 
But Billy promised faithful to be keerful, and allowed 
He would build up a reputation that would make us 

mighty proud. 
But it seems as though my counsel has faded from his 

mind, 
An' now he's got in trouble in the very worstest kind. 



332 FOXONIAN SELECTIONS 

His letters come so suldom that I somewhat sort o' 

knowd 
That Billy was a tramping in a mighty rocky road, 
I never once emagined he would bow my head in 

shame, 
An' in the dust he'd wallow his daddy's honored name. 
He writ from out in Denver, the story might be short; 
I just can't tell his mother, it will crush her poor old 

heart. 
An' so I reckoned, parson, you might break the news 

to her, 
An' tell her Billy is in the legislature, but doesn't say 

what fur ! 

THE DACHSHUND 

The dockshound is a dorg notwithstandin' appeer- 
encis. He has fore legs, two in front an' two behind, 
an' they ain't on speekin' terms. I wunst made a 
dockshound out of a cowcumber an' fore matchis, an' 
it lookt as nacheral as life. Dockshounds is farely in- 
telligent considerin' thare shaip. Thare brains bein' so 
far away frum thare tales it bothers them sum to wag 
the lattur. I wunst noo a dockshound who wuz too 
impashunt to wait till he cood signal the hole length of 
his boddy when he wanted to wag his tale, so he maid 
it up with his tale thet when he wanted it to wag he 
would shake his rite ear, an' when the tale seen it shake 
it wood wag. But as fer me, gimme a bull pup with a 
peddygree. — Seventh Grade Boy. 



FOXONIAN SELECTIONS 333 

DAD'S OLD BREECHES 

When dad has worn his trousers out, 

They pass to brother John ; 
Then mother trims them round about, 

And William puts them on. 

When William's legs too long have grown, 

The trousers fail to hide 'em ; 
So Walter claims them for his own 

And stows himself inside 'em. 

Next Sam's fat legs they close invest, 
And when they won't stretch tighter, 

They're turned and shortened, washed and pressed, 
And fixed on me — the writer. 

Ma works them into rugs and caps 

When I have burst the stitches — 
At Doomsday we shall see (perhaps) 

The last of dad's old breeches. 

RAILROAD GRAMMAR 

" What was the next station ? " 

" You mean what is the next station." 

" No. What was is, isn't it ? " 

" That doesn't make any difference. Is is was, but 
was is not necessarily is." 

" Look here ; what was, is, and what is, is. Is was 
is or is is was ? " 



334 F OXONIAN SELECTIONS 

" Nonsense. What may be is, but is is not was. It 
was was, but if was was is, then is isn't is or was wasn't 
was. If was is, was is was, isn't it ? But if is is was 
then — " 

" Listen. Is is, was was, and is was and was is ; 
therefore, is was is and was is was, and if was was is, 
is is is, and was was was and is is was." 

" Shut up, will you ! I've got by my station already." 

— Life. 

A MOTHER'S ADVICE 

If you want to please the men, 

Daughter mine ; 
Learn a little bit of art, 
Some good poetry by heart, 
Languages to wit impart, 

Music fine. 
Know the proper way to dress, 
How to comfort and caress, 
Dance a little, gossip less. 

Daughter mine. 

If you want to please the men, 

Daughter mine ; 
Study how to mix a cake, 
Learn to sew and boil and bake, 
Say you cook for cooking's sake, 

How divine ! 



FOXONIAN SELECTIONS 335 

Be a housewife, all the rest 
Counts but little ; truth confessed, 
Such girls always marry best, 

Daughter mine. — Lalia Mitchell. 

MAYBE YOU DO, BUT I DOUBT IT 

An encore selection, on our bachelor friends. 

You may talk of the doings of women and men, 
Of the way they comment about it, 
But do you practice all that you preach ? 
Well, maybe you do, but I doubt it. 

Have you ever been young and full of true life ; 
And if Cupid's dart came, did you rout it ? 
You answer, yes, with significant smile ; 
Well, maybe you did, but I doubt it. 

Have you sat by a maiden angelic and fair, 
And not at all a gallant about it, 
Have you always been trim, said not a love word? 
Well, maybe you have, but I doubt it. 

Has your lot been cast with a beautiful maid, 
Though your age be two score or about it ; 
Did you forget the ways of your young days ? 
Well, maybe you did, but I doubt it. 

Have you ladies been walking with nice young men, 
Though your hair showed white or about it, 
Did you forget you were forty, and glad you were so ? 
Well, maybe you did, but I doubt it. 



336 FOX ON IAN SELECTIONS 

Have you seen eyes reflecting heaven's own blue, 
And you never looked askance about it ; 
Did your heart not flutter as she glanced at you ? 
Well, maybe it didn't, but I doubt it. 

Did you sit alone by cherry-red lip 

And betwixt nature's own pearl to adorn it, 

Did you leave them alone with never a ? 

Well, maybe you did, but I doubt it. 

Were you ever left with a plump, slender waist, 
Inviting protection about it; 

With thinking no harm did you keep down your arm ? 
Well, maybe you did, but I doubt it. 

You that are old, say past twenty-eight, 
Just leaving your youth or about it, 
Do you never enjoy the ruse of young days ? 
Well, maybe you don't, but I doubt it. 

You may boast all you please about being prim, 
And you never are young — all about it. 
You assert you are frigid and proof against charm, 
Well, maybe you are, but I doubt it. 

Don't think in this jingle we say you're unkind, 
But before you are married, don't shout it, 
And boast that you're different from another mind, 
If you do, we shall certainly doubt it. 

— Frank S. Fox. 



FOX ONI AN SELECTIONS 337 

TWO CONFIDENCES 
His Story 
You never saw her ? — well, old boy, you have 
Something to live for yet, as you will see. 
Blond and eighteen and — mashed ? well, I should 

say so! 
I must confess she is quite gone on me. 
You see I met her at Thompson's ball, 
Then called ; then asked and took her to the play. 
It was Modjeska ; " Juliet," the piece. 
Of course those love scenes give a man a show, 
And I don't throw a chance like that aside, 
As you, old boy, have cause enough to know. 
So I made love, and she, poor innocent 
(Though I confess the game was rather thin), 
Swallowed the whole for truth, I swear she did, 
Took the whole sentimental business in. 
Meet her ? Of course you must, because you are 
A judge of beauty, gait, and style. 
Flirting ? You ask me that with sober face ? 
Flirting ? Why, man, of course, or I should smile. 

Her Story 
Handsome ? Oh, yes ; but an awful goose ! 
Why, you never heard such talk. 
And, girls, if you had seen him smile, 
And seen him try to walk, 
With pipestem pants and pointed shoes, 
You simply would have died. 



338 FOXONIAN SELECTIONS 

I kept my face straight till he went, 

Then, girls, I nearly cried. 

He talked about his lonely life ; 

I dropped my eyes and sighed ; 

He said he ought to have a wife ; 

I vow, I never tried 

So hard to keep a sober face and sympathetic air. 

Then he went on to tell his taste ; 

Blue eyes and golden hair, 

A figure not petite or tall, 

A form not plump or spare, 

A mind — just think, he wants a mind ! — 

Well stored, but fit to wear 

A heart — this creature wants a heart — 

Which, always fancy free, 

Should find in him — that walking shop — 

Its first affinity. 

Just fancy, girls, my playing that — 

" Heart whole and fancy free." 

No other beau would think, I'm sure, 

Of such a role from me. 

Engaged ten times, in love a score ; 

And flirted — let me see, 

Some thousand times if I recall, 

" Heart whole and fancy free! " 

Handsome ? Oh, yes, and dead in love, 

Too much for any use — 

I might engage myself to him — 

But then, he's such a goose. 



FOX ONI AN SELECTIONS 339 

AU REVOIR 

While strolling down the street one day, 
Methought I heard some person say, 
"I'm sure it would not be a sin, 
So, nice young man, come in, come in ; 
So, nice young man, I say, come in." 

An open door I then looked in, 
There was Poll in her cage of tin ; 
She looked at me without a frown, 
Then plainly said, " Sit down, sit down." 
Now I am sure she said, " Sit down." 

I sat down in a cushioned chair, 
'Twas built for one with manly air ; 
Just then a maid walked slowly in, 
She stared at me without a grin, 
She stared at me and never grinned. 

A great surprise was in her eyes, 
She blushed a bit at Poll's replies ; 
And looked so nice and modest there, 
I looked at her with vacant stare, 
I know I looked with vacant stare. 

As I admired her raven tress, 

While she posed there in gingham dress, 

Oh, I thought I would not miss her. 

Polly said, " Why don't you kiss her ? " 

" Quick," she said, " why don't you kiss her ? " 



340 FOXONIAN SELECTIONS 

I thought myself, by Jove, I will ; 
And went to her, she stood quite still ; 
I prepared for osculation ; 
She cried aloud, " Oh, murderation," 
My angel cried, " Murderation." 

I heard her father coming in, 

I knew he wore a fiendish grin, 

And was coming there without a doubt. 

Then Polly said, " Sneak out, sneak out." 

Poll said to me, " Quick, now, sneak out." 

I stayed a bit, then thought to go, 
But then, alas, I was so slow ; 
I thought to run, he kicked away, 
Sent me so fast Poll said, " Good day." 
Polly said to me, " Hey-day ! good day ; " 
And that's the how I went away. 

— Frank S. Fox. 
GOOSES OR GEESE? 

There's a bow-legged tailor who sits day by day 
With his legs doubled up in a curious way, 
While his fat little fingers and flat, stubby thumb 
Make signs on the cloth like a man deaf and dumb. 
His digits are nimble — 

'Tis easy to note 
How needle and thimble 

Oft race round a coat ; 
And his neighbors all say as they see him at work, 
" Oh, that bow-legged tailor's a thrifty old Turk." 



FOXONIAN SELECTIONS 34 1 

There's a high-headed pedagogue, wondrously wise, 
Who looks at the world through a pair o' glass eyes; 
Who teaches by day and who studies by night, 
And gives out that he's solving all problems on sight 

When he wrinkles his brows 
And puckers his lips, 

And most solemnly vows 
He's giving straight tips — 
Then the neighbors all say, as they list to his lore, 
"Oh, there never was such a great master before." 

Now, this bow-legged tailor and pedagogue great 
Would begin in the morn and keep at it till late, 
Each doing the best in his power to adduce 
The correct plural term for a tailor-made goose. 

And the pedagogue said, 
By no rule nor book, — : 

As he shook his high head, — 
By ne'er hook nor crook, 
Could you prove to a man of the least common wit 
That goose could be gooses more than not could be nit. 

But the bow-legged tailor was really abstruse 
In his claim of the plural of gooses for goose. 
While he swore by the yardstick and other like stuff, 
That he knew he was right — it was merely a bluff — 
For all of his clatter 

Was meant to conceal 
A doubt in the matter 
He couldn't help feel; 



342 FOXONIAN SELECTIONS 

So while pounding away, like a man at a wedge, 
In his mind all the time he was ready to hedge. 

Yes, this bow-legged tailor when sending away 
For some things in his business was thus led to say — 
To be sure that he should not make improper use 
Of the pure English tongue in the plural of goose — 
" My dear sir : Send right through 

A goose, if you please. 1 ' 
He had need for just two, 

But note with what ease 
He beat round the bush as he reached for the other, 
By adding : " P.S. Make it two — send another." 

THE NEW PSALM OF LIFE 
By Chick 

Tell me not in mournful numbers, 
Life is but an empty dream ! 
Chickens in their oval slumbers 
Are by no means what they seem. 

Life is real, life is earnest, 
And the shell is not its den ; 
Egg thou art and egg remainest, 
Was not spoken of the hen. 

Not enjoyment, and not sorrow 
Is our destined end or way, 
But to scratch that each to-morrow 
Finds us fatter than to-day. 



FOXONIAN SELECTIONS 343 

Art is long and time is fleeting, 
Be our bills then sharpened well, 
Not like muffled drums be beating 
On the inside of the shell. 

In the world's broad field of battle, 
In the great barnyard of life, 
Be not like the lazy cattle, 
Be a rooster in the strife. 

Trust no hawk, however pleasant ; 
And yet never be it said, 
When the birds of prey are present, 
You were skulking in the shed. 

Lives of older cocks remind us 
We can make our lives sublime ; 
And when roasted leave behind us 
Bird tracks in the sands of time. 

Bird tracks that perhaps another 
Chicken drooping in the rain, 
A forlorn and hen-pecked brother, 
When he sees, shall crow again. 

Let us then be after hatching, 
With a heart for every fate, 
Ever crowing, ever scratching, 
Learn to cackle and to prate. 



344 FOXONIAN SELECTIONS 

MY PA AND ME 

You know my pa, he always says, 

When we have company, 
A-pattin' me upon the head : 

" This is my son," says he ; 
" Pr-raps the future President," 

And then, with wink and grin, 
He'll give my head another pat, 

Or pinch my cheeks or chin. 

The other day my pa an' me 

Went out into the shed. 
Pa — well — he had his hick'ry switch, 

An' I just up an' said : 
" Pa," but my voice was awful weak. 

Says he : " Speak up, my son." 
"When I am President," says I, 

" I'll 'member what you've done, 
An'," here I shouted big an' loud, 

" I'll lock you up in jail ! " 
Then I just turned my back myself, 

Expectin' him to whale. 

But first I knew, I heard him laugh ; 

He laughed until he cried; 
Then he sat down on the wood 

An' pulled me to his side, 
An' talked to me a long, long while 

'Bout when he was a boy, 



FOXONIAN SELECTIONS 345 

An' all the games he used to play, 

" 01' cat," an' " Siege of Troy." 
An' now my pa an' I are chums, 

Pa's broke the switch in two. 
When I think what I said that day, 

I'm 'shamed, all through an' through. 



"SISTER'S BEST FELLER" 

My sister's "best feller" is 'most six-foot-three, 

And handsome and strong as a feller can be; 

And Sis, she's so little and slender and small, 

You never would think she could boss him at all ; 

But, my jing ! 

She don't do a thing 

But make him jump round like he worked with a 

string ; 
It just makes me 'shamed of him sometimes, you know, 
To think that he'll let a girl bully him so. 

He goes to walk with her and carries her muff 

And coats and umbrellas, and that kind of stuff; 

She loads him with things that must weigh 'most a ton ; 

And, honest, he likes it, as if it was fun. 

And, oh, say ! 

When they go to a play, 

He'll sit in the parlor and fidget away, 

And she won't come down till it's quarter past eight, 

And then she'll scold him 'cause they get there so late. 



346 FOX ONI AN SELECTIONS 

He spends heaps of money a-buyin' her things 

Like candy and flowers and presents and rings ; 

But all he's got for 'em's a handkerchief case — 

A fussed-up concern made of ribbons and lace — 

But, my land ! 

He thinks it's just grand, 

'Cause she made it, he says, "with her own little hand.' 

He calls her an " angel" — I heard him — and " saint,' 

And " beautif ulest bein' on earth " ; — but she ain't. 

'Fore I go an errand for her any time 

I just make her coax me and give me a dime ; 

But that great, big silly — why, honest and true! — 

He'd run forty miles if she wanted him to. 

Oh, gee-whiz ! 

I tell you what 'tis ! 

I just think it's awful — those actions of his. 

I won't fall in love when I'm grown — no, sir-ee ! 

My sister's "best feller's" a warnin' to me! — Puck. 

[By special arrangement with the publishers.] 

MEMORIAL DAY — WHAT MEANS IT? 

What means this tread so solemn and slow 

That we hear in our land to-day ? 

What means the roll of the muffled drum, 

And the minor strains the musicians play ? 

Why this parade with heavy tread, 

With banners draped and the drooping head ? 



FOXONIAN SELECTIONS 347 

What mean these women with tearful eye, 
These children with garlands of flowers ? 
What mean these daughters with dimmed eyes, 
These lines of men with the battle scars ? 
Why sing they songs making sad the soul ? 
Why ring the bells with mournful toll ? 

What mean these groups in the village street, 

The town's highway, the city's mart ? 

Why deck they graves with flowers of spring, 

And linger there, being loath to part ? 

They mean that Liberty was bought with blood, 

Lives sacrificed, souls sent to God. 

They mean that men both true and brave 

Were willing to bear the battle brunt 

And to give up wealth, and home, and friends, 

And march away to the battle front. 

And there to suffer, to do, to die, 

Feel the saber's cut, the bullet's cry. 

These mean they braved disease and want, 
The toilsome march in the enemy's land, 
The pangs of hunger, the horror of thirst, 
Ay ! they endured more than we understand. 
These mean they did all for you, for me, 
That our country might be forever free. 

The tears they shed are of sorrow and joy, 
Swelling each from a sincere heart, 
Sorrow because of the loved one gone, 



348 F OXONIAN SELECTIONS 

Joy because of the noble part - 
These women noble deeds have done, 
Their sacrifice great, a loyal son. 

These maidens and children you see to-day, 

With sorrowing hearts and cheeks that are pale, 

Have likewise felt love's sacrifice; 

That loved one slain in the leaden hail. 

Oh ! Mars is a monster, God help us to stay. 

Oh ! Liberty, Liberty, turn not away. 

The veterans you see who march to-day 
With drooping shoulders and unsteady step, 
Are the living monuments left in the land 
They fought to save while justice slept. 
They are noblemen left of thousands more, 
Hail, hail to the veterans with the battle scar. 

The thousands that sleep 'neath Shiloh's sod, 
At Gettysburg, on Antietam's crest, 
'Neath the Stars and Stripes, that flag of the free, 
Sleep on, brave men, you have earned your rest. 
For none are greater nor braver than thee, 
Unless those who come back to unite the free. 

We bedeck your graves with garlands to-day, 
To show our love, and we remember still 
Your deeds of valor in our country's cause ; 
God can reward you as he surely will. 
Sleep on, brave soldiers, in your narrow bed, 
Your work still lives, you are not dead. 



F OXONIAN SELECTIONS 349 

Dead is he, who when the nation called, 
Turned away, and gave naught to assist ; 
It is he we forget ; his name detest ; 
He played the coward ; he is not missed. 
Cheers, cheers, for the loyal, the brave, the true : 
He wears the bronze button, he wears the blue. 

— Fra7ik S. Fox. 

VETERANS DEAD 

Plant beautiful flowers 

By the tombs of the brave ; 
Strew lilies in showers 

O'er each veteran's grave, 
While the muffled drum rolls, 

And the fife gives its note, 
And the flag's gaudy folds 

On the breeze flow and float. 
That our hands may attest 

To our love and respect, 
Let the place where they rest 

With azaleas be decked. 
No longer they march 

To the tune of the fife, 
For, alas ! they have marched 

From the battle of life 
Into death's solitude, 

Which vibrates with the tread 
Of the valorous army 

Of veterans dead. 



350 FOXONIAN SELECTIONS 

The roses may bloom 

As they blossomed of yore ; 
But the clay in the tomb 

Can behold them no more. 
The vines trail and creep 

O'er each moldering spot, 
Where the brave lie asleep, 

But they notice it not. 
From them death has parted 

Eternity's pall, 
Which shrouds the mysterious 

Future of all, 
And all that is sealed 

In silence eternal 
To them is revealed 

In regions supernal. 
While calmly they rest 

In the soil that they freed, 
Oh, let us recount 

Every valorous deed 
And moisten their tombs 

With the flow of our tears, 
While sadly we gaze 

Down the vista of years 
And see them in battle 

Unclothed and unfed — 
The valorous army 

Of veterans dead. 



FOX ONI AN SELECTIONS 35 I 

The flag that they bore ! 

Oh, the deeds it recalls 
Of the men that went down, 

Their hearts pierced with balls ! 
Of the men who would die 

Before they'd retreat, 
Though death is so sad 

And life is so sweet. 
The flag ! How it tells 

Of the price that was paid ; 
The flag ! How it tells, 

As it waves overhead, 
Of the lives that were lost 

And the blood that was shed 
By the valorous army 

Of veterans dead. 

The roll call of death 

Still is heard among men, 
And they answer it now 

As they answered it when 
They waded in slaughter's 

Red, turbulent waves — 
As they went, still they go 

Calmly into their graves ; 
And the road that they tread 

Must be trod by each soul, 
When his name has been read 

From that terrible roll. 



352 FOX ONI AN SELECTIONS 

But ever and ever 

Plead Glory and Fame, 
At Oblivion's bar 

For the veteran's name, 
And reviewing their ranks, 

They will place at the head 
The valorous army 

Of veterans dead. — William Scott. 



THE HIDDEN MENACE 

" I have arranged the following arena conflict for a reading. It 
is taken from G. J. Whyte-Melville's book, The Gladiator. I have 
arranged it so as to give the reader an idea of the entertainments 
enjoyed by a degraded populace. It is a portrayal of what results 
to a people who devote their whole time and attention to athletic 
sports. It will be observed that the desire for this kind of enter- 
tainment grows upon a people so that, finally, they have the heart 
to endure anything. The degrading influence acts even more upon 
the spectator than upon the actor. The selection will admit of a 
careful study in expression. It is as thrilling as any arena scene to 
be found in literature." — Frank S. Fox. 

A hundred thousand tongues, whispering and mur- 
muring with Italian volubility, send up a busy hum, like 
that of an enormous beehive, into the sunny air. The 
Flavian Amphitheater, Vespasian's gigantic concession 
to the odious tastes of his people, has not yet been con- 
structed ; and Rome must crowd and jostle in the great 
Circus, if she would behold that slaughter of beasts 
and those mortal combats of men in which she now 



FOXONIAN SELECTIONS 353 

takes far more delight than in the innocent trials of 
speed and skill, for which the inclosure was originally 
designed. That her luxurious citizens are dissatisfied 
even with this roomy edifice, is sufficiently obvious from 
the many complaints that accompany the struggling and 
pushing of those who are anxious to obtain a good place. 
To-day's bill of fare is, indeed, tempting to the morbid 
appetites of high and low. A rhinoceros and tiger are 
to be pitted against each other ; and it is to be hoped 
that, notwithstanding many recent failures in such com- 
bats, these two beasts may be savage enough to afford 
the desired sport Several pairs of gladiators, at least, 
are to fight to the death, besides those upon whom the 
populace may show mercy, or from whom they may 
withhold it at will. In addition to all this, it has been 
whispered that one well-known patrician intends to 
exhibit his prowess upon the deadly stage. Much curi- 
osity is expressed, and many a wager has already been 
laid on his name, his skill, the nature of his conflict, and 
the chances of his success. Though the Circus be large 
enough to contain the population of a thriving city, no 
wonder that it is to-day full to the very brim. As usual 
in such assemblages, the hours of waiting are lightened 
by eating and drinking, by jests, practical and otherwise, 
by remarks, complimentary, sarcastic, or derisive, on the 
several notabilities who enter at short intervals and take 
their places with no small stir and assumption of impor- 
tance. The nobility and distinguished citizens are better 
known than respected by their plebeian fellow-citizens. 



354 FOXONIAN SELECTIONS 

There is, however, one exception. Though Valeria's 
Liburnians lay themselves open to no small amount of 
insolence, by the emphatic manner in which they make 
way for their mistress, as she proceeds with her usual 
haughty bearing to her place near the patrician benches 
— it is no sooner observed that she is accompanied 
by her kinsman, Licinius, than a change comes over 
the demeanor, even of those who feel themselves 
most aggrieved by being elbowed out of their places, 
and pushed violently against their neighbors, while 
admiring glances and respectful silence denote the 
esteem in which the Roman general is held by high 
and low. 

While Valeria, in common with many ladies of dis- 
tinction, had encroached upon the space originally al- 
lotted to the vestal virgins, and established, by constant 
attendance in the amphitheater, a prescriptive right to 
a cushioned seat for herself and her friends, women of 
lower rank were compelled to station themselves in an 
upper gallery allotted to them, or to mingle on suffer- 
ance with the crowd in the lower tier of places, where 
the presence of a male companion was indispensable 
for protection from annoyance, and even insult. Within 
speaking distance of the haughty Roman lady stood 
Miriamne, the Jewess, accompanied by Calchas, her 
father's brother, trembling with fear and excitement 
in every limb, yet turning her large dark eyes upon 
Valeria, with an expression of curiosity and interest 
that could only have been aroused by an instinctive 



FOXONIAN SELECTIONS 355 

consciousness of feelings common to both. Valeria 
seemed to be fascinated by the gaze of the Jewish 
maiden, now bending on her a haughty and inquiring 
glance, anon turning away with a gesture of affected 
disdain ; but never unobservant, for many seconds to- 
gether, of the dark pale beauty and her venerable 
companion. 

It wanted a few minutes yet of noon, but a shout was 
ringing through the amphitheater. It had begun in 
some far-off corner with a mere whispered muttering, 
and had been taken up by spectator after specta- 
tor, till it swelled into a wild and deafening roar. 
" A patrician, a patrician ! " vociferated the crowd, 
thirsting fiercely for fresh excitement and palled with 
vulgar carnage, yearning to see the red blood flow from 
some scion of an illustrious house. The tumult soon 
reached such a height as to compel the attention of 
Vitellius, the Roman, who summoned Hippias, the fenc- 
ing master, to his chair, and whispered a few sentences 
in his ear. This somewhat calmed the excitement ; and 
while the fencing master's exertions cleared the arena 
of the dead and wounded with whom it was encumbered, 
a general stir might have been observed throughout the 
assemblage, while each individual changed his position, 
and disposed himself more comfortably for sight-seeing, 
as is the custom of a crowd when anything of especial 
interest is about to take place. Licinius had looked 
upon carnage in many forms, yet a sad, grave disap- 
proval sat on the general's noble features. Once, after 



356 FOX ONI AN SELECTIONS 

a glance at his kinswoman's eager face, he turned from 
her with a gesture of anger and disgust ; but Valeria 
was too intent upon the scene enacted within a few 
short paces to spare attention for anything besides, 
except, perhaps, the vague foreboding of evil that was 
gnawing at her heart, and to which such a moment of 
suspense as the present afforded a temporary relief. 
Rufus and Manlius had been pitted against each other 
by lot. The taller frame and greater strength of the 
former were supposed to be balanced by the latter's 
exquisite skill. Collars and bracelets were freely offered 
at even value amongst the senators and equestrians on 
each. While the other pairs were waging their strife 
with varying success in different parts of the amphi- 
theater, these had found themselves struggling near the 
barrier close under the seat occupied by Valeria. She 
could hear distinctly their hard-drawn breath, could read 
on each man's face the stern, set expression of one who 
has no hope save in victory, for whom defeat is inevi- 
table and instant death. No wonder she sat so still and 
spellbound, with her pale lips parted and her cold hands 
clenched. 

The blood was pouring from more than one gash on 
the giant's naked body, yet Rufus seemed to have lost 
neither coolness nor strength. He continued to ply 
his adversary with blow on blow, pressing him, and fol- 
lowing him up, till he drove him nearly against the 
barrier. It was obvious that Manlius, though still un- 
wounded, was overmatched and overpowered. Rufus 



FOXONIAN SELECTIONS 357 

could scarcely believe that he had succeeded in foiling 
his adversary's defense, and driving it deftly home, so 
unmoved was the familiar eye looking over its shield 
into his own — so steady and skillful was the return 
which instantaneously succeeded the attack. But that 
face was growing paler and paler with every pulsation, 
and Manlius reeled and fell where he stood, breaking 
his sword as he went down, and burying it beneath his 
body on the sand. 

The other strode over him in act to strike. A 
natural impulse of habit or self-preservation bade the 
fallen man half raise his arm, with the gesture by which 
a gladiator was accustomed to implore the clemency of 
the populace, but he recollected himself, and let it drop 
proudly by his side. Then he looked kindly up in his 
victor's face and said quietly, " Through the heart, com- 
rade, for old friendship's sake ; " and he never winced 
nor quailed when the giant drove the blow home with 
all the strength that he could muster. They had fed at 
the same board and drunk from the same wine cup for 
years; and this was all he had to bestow upon his 
friend. The people applauded loudly ; but Valeria, who 
had heard the dead man's last appeal, felt her eyes fill 
with tears ; and Miriamne, who had raised her head to 
look at this unlucky moment, buried it once more in 
her kinsman's cloak, sick and trembling, ready to faint 
with pity, and dismay, and fear. 

Amid the cheers, Julius Placidus now stepped grace- 
fully into the center of the arena, and made his obeisance 



358 FOX ONI AN SELECTIONS 

to the crowd. The Tribune's appearance was well cal- 
culated to excite the admiration of the spectators, — no 
mean judges of the human form, accustomed as they 
were to scan and criticise it in its highest state of per- 
fection. His graceful figure was naked and unarmed, 
save for a white linen tunic reaching to his knee, and 
although he wore rings of gold round his ankles, his 
feet were bare, to insure the necessary speed and activ- 
ity demanded by this mode of attack. His long, dark 
locks, carefully curled and perfumed for the occasion, 
and bound by a single golden fillet, floated carelessly 
over his neck, while his left shoulder was tastefully 
draped, as it were, by the folds of the dangling net, 
sprinkled and weighted with small, leaden beads, and 
so disposed as to be whirled away at once without 
entanglement or delay upon its deadly errand. His 
right hand grasped the trident, a three-pronged lance, 
some seven feet in length, capable of inflicting a fatal 
wound ; and the flourish with which he made it quiver 
round his head displayed a practiced arm and a perfect 
knowledge of the offensive weapon. To the shouts 
which greeted him — " Placidus ! Placidus!" " Hail to 
the Tribune ! " " Well done, the Patrician Order ! " and 
other such demonstrations of welcome — he replied by 
bowing repeatedly, especially directing his courtesies to 
that portion of the amphitheater in which Valeria was 
placed. With all his acuteness, little did the Tribune 
guess how hateful he was at that moment to the very 
woman on whose behalf he was pledged to engage in 



FOXONIAN SELECTIONS 359 

mortal strife, little did he dream how earnest were her 
vows for his speedy humiliation and defeat. Valeria, 
sitting there with the red spots burning a deeper crim- 
son in her cheeks, and her features set in a mask of 
stone, would have asked nothing better than to have 
leaped down from her seat, snatched up a sword and 
buckler, and done battle with him then and there to the 
death. 

The Tribune now walked proudly round the arena, 
nodding familiarly to his friends, a proceeding which 
called forth raptures of applause. He halted under the 
chair of Caesar and saluted the Emperor with marked 
deference ; then, taking up his position in the center, 
and leaning on his trident, seemed to await the arrival 
of his antagonist. He was not kept long in suspense ; 
turning round, he beheld his enemy, marshaled into 
the lists by Hippias and Hirpinus the gladiator ; the 
latter, who had slain his man, thus finding himself at 
liberty to afford counsel and countenance to his young 
friend. The shouts which greeted the newcomer were 
neither so long nor so lasting as those that did honor 
to the Tribune ; nevertheless, if the interest excited by 
each were to be calculated by intensity rather than 
amount, then Esca's, the Briton slave, suffrages would 
have far exceeded those of his adversary. 

Miriamne's whole heart was in her eyes as she wel- 
comed the glance of recognition he directed exclusively 
to her ; and Valeria, turning from one to the other, felt 
a bitter pang shoot to her very marrow, as she instinc- 



360 FOX ONI AN SELECTIONS 

tively acknowledged the existence of a rival. A host of 
maddened feelings rushed through the Roman lady's 
brain, while Miriamne, in her singleness of heart, had 
but one great and deadly fear — that he should fail. 
Unprejudiced and uninterested spectators, however, had 
but one opinion as to the chances of the Briton's suc- 
cess. If anything could have added to the enthusiasm 
called forth by the appearance of Placidus, it was the 
patrician's selection of so formidable an antagonist. 
Esca, making his obeisance to Caesar, in the pride of 
his powerful form and the bloom of his youth and 
beauty, armed, moreover, with helmet and shield and 
sword, which he carried with the ease of one habitu- 
ated to their use, appeared as invincible a champion 
as could have been chosen from the whole Roman 
Empire. 

Even Hirpinus, albeit a man experienced in the un- 
certainties of such contests, and cautious, if not in 
giving, at least in backing, his opinion, whispered to 
Hippias that the patrician looked like a mere child 
by the side of their pupil, and offered to wager a 
flagon of the best Falernian " that he was carried out 
of the arena, feet foremost, within five minutes after 
the first attack, if he missed his throw." To which 
the fencing master, true to his habits of reticence and 
assumed superiority, vouchsafed no reply save a con- 
temptuous smile. 

The adversaries took up their ground with exceeding 
caution. No advantage of wind or sun was allowed to 



FOX ONI AN SELECTIONS 36 1 

either, and having been placed by Hippias at a distance 
of ten yards apart in the middle of the arena, neither 
moved a limb for several seconds, as they stood intently 
watching each other, themselves the center on which 
all eyes were fixed. It was remarked that while Esca's 
open brow bore only a look of calm, resolute attention, 
there was an evil smile of malice stamped, as it were, 
upon the Tribune's face ; the one seemed an apt repre- 
sentation of courage and strength, the other of hatred 
and skill. " He carries the front of a conqueror," whis- 
pered Licinius to his kinswoman, regarding his slave 
with looks of anxious approval. " Trust me, Valeria, 
we shall win the day. Esca will gain his freedom ; the 
gilded chariot and the white horses shall bring him and 
me to your door to-morrow morning, and the gaudy 
Tribune will have had a lesson, that I, for one, shall 
not be sorry to have been the means of bestowing on 
him." 

A bright smile lighted up Valeria's face, but she 
looked from the speaker to a dark-haired girl in the 
crowd below, and the expression of her countenance 
changed till it grew as forbidding as the Tribune's, 
while she replied, with a careless laugh : " I care not 
who wins, Licinius, since they are both in the lists. To 
tell the truth, I did but fear the courage of this Titan 
of yours might fail him at the last moment, and the 
match would not be fought out after all. Hippias tells 
me the Tribune is the best netsman he ever trained." 
He looked at her with a vague surprise, but following 



362 FOX ONI AN SELECTIONS 

the direction of his kinswoman's eyes, he could not but 
remark the obvious distress and agitation of the cloaked 
figure on which they were bent. 

Miriamne, when she saw the Briton, Esca, fairly 
placed front to front with his adversary, had neither 
strength nor courage for more. Leaning against Cal- 
chas, the poor girl hid her face in her hands and wept 
as if her heart would break. Myrrhina, Valeria!s favor- 
ite slave, standing within a few paces of the Jewess, 
expatiated loudly on the appearance of the combatants, 
and her careless jests and sarcasms cut Miriamne to the 
quick. It was painful to hear her lover's personal quali- 
ties canvassed as though he were some handsome beast 
of prey, and his chance of life and death balanced with 
heartless nicety by the flippant tongue of the waiting 
maid, as she said: "I'm sure whichever way the match 
goes I don't know what my mistress will do. As for 
the Tribune, he would get out of the chariot any day on 
the bare stones to kiss the very ground she walks on ; 
and yet, if he dares so much as to leave a scratch upon 
that handsome youth's skin, he need never come to our 
doors again. Why, time after time have I hunted that 
boy all over the city to briiig him home with me. And 
it's no light matter for a slave and a barbarian to have 
won the favor of the proudest lady in Rome. See how 
he looks up at her now, before they begin ! " The light 
words wounded very sore ; and Miriamne raised her 
head for one glance at the Briton, half in fond appeal, 
half in protest, as it were, against the slander she had 



FOXONIAN SELECTIONS 363 

heard. What she saw, however, left no room in her 
loving heart for any feeling save intense horror and 
suspense. 

With his eyes fixed on his adversary, Esca was ad- 
vancing, inch by inch, like a tiger about to spring. 
Covering the lower part of his face and most of his 
body with his buckler, and holding his short, two-edged 
sword with bended arm and threatening point, he 
crouched to at least a foot lower than his natural 
stature, and seemed to have every sinew and muscle 
braced, to dash in like lightning when the opportunity 
offered. A false movement, he well knew, would be 
fatal, and the difficulty was to come to close quarters, 
as, directly he was within a certain distance, the deadly 
cast was sure to be made. Placidus, on the other hand, 
stood perfectly motionless. His eye was unusually ac- 
curate, and he could trust his practiced arm to whirl the 
net abroad at the exact moment when its sweep would 
be irresistible, so he remained in the same collected atti- 
tude, his trident shifted into the left hand, his right foot 
advanced, his right arm wrapped in the gathered folds 
of the net which hung across his body, and covered the 
whole of his left side and shoulder. Once he tried a 
scornful gibe and smile to draw his enemy from his 
guard, but in vain ; and though Esca, in return, made a 
feint with the same object, the former's attitude re- 
mained immovable, and the latter's snakelike advance 
continued with increasing caution and vigilance. 

An inch beyond the fatal distance Esca halted once 



364 FOXONIAN SELECTIONS 

more. For several seconds the combatants stood at bay, 
and the hundred thousand spectators crowded into that 
spacious amphitheater held their breath, and watched 
them like one man. 

At length the Briton niade a false attack, prepared to 
spring back immediately and foil the netsman's throw ; 
but the wily Tribune was not to be deceived, and the 
only result was that, without appearing to shift his 
ground, he moved an arm's length nearer his adversary. 
Then the Briton dashed in, and this time in fierce 
earnest, foot, hand, and eye, all together, and so 
rapidly that the Tribune's throw flew harmless over his 
assailant's head, Placidus only avoiding his deadly thrust 
by the catlike activity with which he leaped aside, then, 
turning round, he scoured across the arena for life, gath- 
ering his net for a fresh cast, as he flew. " Coward!" 
hissed Valeria between her set teeth; while Miriamne 
breathed once more — nay, her bosom panted, and her 
eye sparkled with something like triumph at the ap- 
proaching climax. She was premature, however, in her 
satisfaction, and Valeria's disdain was also undeserved. 
Though apparently flying for his life, Placidus was as 
cool and as brave at that moment as when he entered 
the arena. Ear and eye were alike on the watch for 
the slightest false movement on the part of his pursuer ; 
and ere he had half crossed the lists, his net was 
gathered up, and folded with deadly precision once 
more. 

The Tribune especially prided himself on his speed 



FOX ONI AN SELECTIONS 365 

of foot. It was on this quality that he chiefly depended 
for safety in a contest which at first sight appeared so 
unequal. He argued from the great strength of his 
adversary, that the latter would not be so preeminent 
in activity as himself; but he omitted to calculate the 
effects of a youth spent in the daily labors of the chase 
amongst the woods and mountains of Britain. Those 
following feet had many a time run down the wild goat 
over its native rocks. 

Faster and faster fly the combatants, to the intense 
delight of the crowd, who especially affect this kind of 
combat for the pastime it thus affords. Speedy as is 
the Tribune, his foe draws nearer and nearer, and now, 
close to where Miriamne stands with Calchas, he is 
within a stride of his antagonist. His arm is up to 
strike, when a woman's shriek rings through the amphi- 
theater, startling Vitellius on his throne, and the sword 
flies aimlessly from the Briton's grasp as he falls for- 
ward on his face, and the impetus rolls him over and 
over in the sand. 

There is no chance for him now. He is scarcely 
down ere the net whirls over him, and he is fatally and 
helplessly entangled in its folds. Miriamne gazes stupe- 
fied on the prostrate form, with stony face, forgetting 
for the moment where she is. 

Placidus, striding over his fallen enemy, with his 
trident raised, and the old sneering smile deepening and 
hardening on his face, observed the cause of his down- 
fall, and inwardly congratulated himself on the lucky 



366 FOXONIAN SELECTIONS 

chance which had alone prevented their positions being 
reversed. The blood was streaming from a wound in 
Esca's foot. It will be remembered that where Manlius 
fell, his sword was buried under him in the sand. On 
removing his dead body, the weapon escaped observa- 
tion, and the Briton, treading in hot haste on the very 
spot where it lay concealed, had not only been severely 
lacerated, but tripped up and brought to the ground by 
the snare. 

Esca, expecting nothing less than immediate death, 
had his eyes fixed on the drooping figure of Miriamne ; 
but the poor girl had seen nothing since his fall. Her 
last moment of consciousness showed her a cloud of 
dust, a confused mass of twine, and an ominous figure 
with arm raised in act to strike ; then barriers and 
arena and eager faces and white garments, and the 
whole amphitheater, pillars, sand, and sky, reeled ere 
they faded into darkness ; sense and sight failed .her at 
the last moment, and she fainted helplessly in her kins- 
man's arms. 

All this flashed through the conqueror's mind as he 
stood erect, prepared to deal a blow that should close 
all accounts, and looked up to Valeria for the fatal sign. 
Maddened with rage and jealousy, sick, bewildered, and 
scarcely conscious of her actions, the Roman lady was 
about to give it, when Licinius seized her arms and held 
them down by force. Then, with a numerous party of 
friends and clients, he made a strong demonstration in 
favor of mercy. The speed of foot displayed by the 



FOXONIAN SELECTIONS 367 

vanquished, and the obvious cause of his discomfiture, 
acted favorably on the majority of the spectators. Such 
an array of hands turned outwards and pointing to the 
earth met the Tribune's eye, that he could not but for- 
bear his cruel purpose ; so he gave his weapon to one of 
the attendants who had now entered the arena, took his 
cloak from the hands of another, and, with a graceful 
bow to the spectators, turned scornfully away from his 
fallen foe. 

A SCENE OF RUIN 

Arranged for Reading by Frank S. Fox. 

The fire was first discovered at 2.25 in the morning, 
by Patrolman H. A. Moore, who first saw the flames 
issuing from the base of the manhole in the Brunson 
Building, and by eight o'clock the whole west side of 
High Street, from Elm to La Fayette streets, presented 
a scene of smoking ruin. It was not until nearly noon, 
however, that Chief Lauer felt justified in announcing 
that the fire was under control. At the outset the fire 
was found to be difficult to fight, as it seemed equally 
inaccessible from the front and the rear entrances. 

Within five minutes after the arrival of the fire depart- 
ment, the floor of the building was ablaze, and the fire- 
men were compelled to turn all their energies toward 
confining the flames to the one room in the Brunson 
Building. 

This was done with apparent success at first. The 
firemen, directed in person by Chief Lauer, kept streams 



368 FOX ONI AN SELECTIONS 

of water playing on the walls and the roof of the build- 
ing, apparently checking its progress. 

At three o'clock the tenants of the surrounding build- 
ings breathed easier, for it was thought that the danger 
was practically over. 

"We'll keep the fire confined to the building all 
right," said the chief, in answer to the impatient 
questions. 

But a few moments later the situation was suddenly 
and violently reversed. 

Huge volumes of smoke, more than could be accounted 
for by the brisk fire in the room, rolled through the 
Brunson Building and escaped in clouds blacker than 
the enshrouding night, through ventilators and air shafts. 

The fire was steadily waning in the room, but the 
stifling wood smoke was growing thicker and thicker. 
A moment the fire took control of the situation. 

A red tongue of smoke-tipped flame suddenly leaped 
twenty feet into the air from the Brunson Building. 
Sheets of fire burst simultaneously through a score oi 
windows and fiery lips lapped with ease the cornices of 
the two buildings. 

Both structures seemed to break into flames, and at 
every conceivable point at once. 

The fire demon had now awakened with vengeance. 

With the knowledge now that the fire in the Brunson 
Building was more deep-seated than it appeared, the 
chief ordered additional fire apparatus to the spot, and 
now the affrighted tenants of the doomed building were 



FOX ONI AN SELECTIONS 369 

aroused by the rattle and the clanging of the fire engines, 
to find themselves lost in a fog of smoke, with the red 
tongues of flame leaping at them wherever they turned. 

Ill-clad, upon the flame-lit city streets they rushed, the 
houseless tenants of a fire-girt house. 

Some wore coats and some wore robes. One appeared 
on the stairway wrapped in a blanket, with his hat and 
shoes in his hand. He was excited, and instead of try- 
ing to lose himself amid the solitudes of the alley, as did 
many of his more diffident friends, this man blocked the 
egress of the firemen, while he sat on the stairs to put 
on his shoes. 

He then ran off in the direction of the nearest hotel, 
forgetting to put on his hat. 

One young woman dragged her trunk as far as the 
sidewalk and then kept it company for nearly an hour. 
She was in mortal fear of the flames, but dared not leave 
her trunk, lest it be burned. 

But while this comedy or tragedy of exit, according to 
the point of view, was being enacted, the brightening 
flames leaped higher and higher, calling the people from 
the farthest suburbs to witness the awful spectacle. 

A stiff north wind arose suddenly, just when the 
flames of the burning block were at their highest. The 
Thomas Block was next doomed. A gust of wind blew 
a long, angry-red pillar of flame against the building. 
The windows gave way, and the flames entered. 

One of the most stirring and thrilling sights a Colum- 
bus public has ever helplessly witnessed followed. The 



370 F0X0NIAN SELECTIONS 

Thomas Block was five stories in height, each floor piled 
full of the inflammable stock of the Union Clothing 
Company. Better food the fire god could not crave, and 
the roar of its thanksgiving rose above the rumble and 
shriek of the fire engines, and made the buildings tremble 
for blocks distant. 

Not a pillar, but a mountain of flame, its height im- 
measurable to the blinded eye, rose from the top of the 
building, with a volcano of black smoke crowning its 
heights. 

Again the north wind breathed, and a rain of torches 
clear to Broad Street followed. Awnings a block away 
caught fire and were torn down by the firemen and 
spectators. 

The large awning in the rear of Kirby's store in the 
Nicholas Block caught fire, and to this is attributed the 
blaze which destroyed the store later. 

For blocks and blocks, during an hour's time, the 
burning hail continued, while the hundreds of street 
spectators gazed in excited silence. 

But now occurred a bit of real life drama of the kind 
which always puts to shamed oblivion the product of the 
stage. 

The Brunson Building was burning fiercely, all of its 
five stories alight with flame. While there was yet 
safety, policemen had run from door to door in the 
doomed building, warning the inmates, most of whom 
needed no warning, and the building was thought to have 
been emptied an hour before. 



FOX ONI AN SELECTIONS 37 1 

But suddenly a man appeared in one of the fire-rimmed 
windows on the fourth floor. With a blow he shattered 
the window pane and shouted and beckoned for rescue. 

The excitement of the crowd below knew no bounds. 
They crowded by the hundreds under the window, despite 
the exertions of the police, and called to him, exhorted 
him, promised him, and urged him to be calm. 

Then to the horror of the watchers the man dis- 
appeared. 

But only for a moment. He reappeared, and the 
crowd howled for joy. The man threw some clothing 
to the street and again disappeared. 

Two firemen by this time pushed their way to the 
front with ladders, and after another moment, in which 
it seemed certain that the man had perished, he reap- 
peared, reached the ladder safely, and met the climbing 
firemen halfway. 

His appearance on terra firma was the signal for a 
demonstration. The crowd gathered about him and 
cheered itself hoarse. Onlookers struggled for the 
honor of shaking his hand. 

He was half carried and half urged by the overjoyed 
crowd to Long and High streets, where a driver took 
him in his cab to a hotel. 

But while this rescue was being enacted in High 
Street, scenes of a very different sort excited the risi- 
bilities of the spectators in Long Street, where the fire 
had attacked the Courtright Block, which contained the 
Hotel Whatshire. 



372 FOX ONI AN SELECTIONS 

This hotel contained son\e fifty guests, all of whom 
were exceedingly anxious to depart at once. 

They departed, but not all in a conventional manner. 
They dropped their trunks out of the windows, and in 
some cases followed the trunks. 

In various degrees of dishabille most of them gathered 
in lamenting groups in the Front Street school yard, 
and watched the destruction of their property. 

Some few rushed back into the burning building, and 
dragged frantically forth chests, tables, parlor organs, 
and stoves, which they piled in promiscuous heaps 
upon the highway. 

Daylight came, and with it tragedy. The Imperial 
shop in North High Street was burned out completely, 
and Chief Lauer deemed it advisable to send a company 
inside for better advantage. 

Engine Company No. 2 first went in, but was called 
elsewhere, and the chief ordered Company No. 11, in 
charge of Captain Lewis, to go in instead. 

Dragging their hose after them, the captain and his 
subordinates reached a point directly under the tottering- 
north wall of the now ruined Thomas Block. 

A hitch occurred. The hose became entangled out- 
side, and Captain Lewis bade his men go and straighten 
it out. 

The two men obeyed, and they had barely cleared 
the charred door of the shop when the tottering wall 
collapsed, with the brave captain among the ruins. 

And just as the first slanting rays of the sun fell 



FOX ONI AN SELECTIONS 373 

upon the ruined building, now wreathed in smoke, and 
lurid in its own dying flames, the entire north wall, sixty- 
five feet in height, trembled and fell with a resounding 
crash upon the ruins of the shop and made a fire-girt 
hecatomb over the remains of brave Captain Lewis. 

The shock of the tragedy was so great that though 
Chief Lauer, with many spectators, had helplessly 
watched the fire demon's sacrifice, none could for the 
instant realize what had happened. 

From mouth to mouth flew the rumor, " Captain Lewis 
is killed," but firemen and gossip alike refused to be- 
lieve it. But the moments passed, and the leader of 
Company No. 1 1 did not return; and with numbed senses 
and heavy hearts the firemen pursued their work, while 
the spectators, whom the daylight had swelled from 
hundreds to thousands, fell to discussing the tragedy, 
without further regard to the exciting scenes around 
them: 

One by one the sullen stone walls fell. With every 
crash a cloud of dust ascended. The Brunson Building 
had long since changed from a giant furnace to a gaunt 
skeleton of blackened window frames and half-fallen 
walls, whose own dust hid their bases. 

The Brunson Building was a ruin, so was the Court- 
right Block, with the swiftly vacated hotel. The Mithoff 
Block remained, its walls intact, but the interior badly 
charred. The first fires had wreaked its worst vengeance 
on these, at any rate. 

But the fire was still spreading. Shortly before day- 



374 FOX ONI AN SELECTIONS 

light the flames leaped across Long Street and seared 
the Sheldon Building on the opposite corner. It was 
extinguished without serious loss, but a little later flames 
suddenly burst from the basement in the rear of Kirby's 
store, in the Nicholas Block. 

Like the initial blaze in the Bott room, the fire was 
exceedingly difficult to control on account of its inac- 
cessibility. Until nine o'clock in the morning it gained 
steadily upon the firemen. It depleted the store and 
attacked the rooms adjoining. 

Denizens of the Nicholas Block and the Wesley Block, 
adjoining it, moved their belongings out into the streets 
and waited for the worst to happen. 

But it didn't happen. By the most skillful work, 
under the greatest difficulties, the fire department suc- 
ceeded in checking the flames, with damage only to 
Kirby's store, and to the stores adjoining on either side. 
At eleven o'clock Chief Lauer announced the fire well 
under control, and at noon only smoking ruins adorned 
the former sites of six of the city's most important 
business blocks. 

The Nicholas Block fire subdued, the department 
turned its attention to the ruins of the Brunson Build- 
ing, where the remains of Captain Lewis still lay 
entombed. The ruins were drenched all the afternoon, 
but it was probable that they would not be cool enough 
to commence a search before to-morrow. 

The news of the great fire, though it spread rapidly, 
did not show its real effect until late in the afternoon, 



FOXONIAN SELECTIONS 375 

when the people flocked to the ruins by thousands, and 
for hours the crowds stood watching the engines pump- 
ing water on the ruins which marked the end of the 
drama and the irreparable tragedy of the morning. 

— Ohio State Journal. 



THE WRITING ON THE WALL 

Lo ! the sounds of mirth rise loud, 

From a city in the East, 
And a thousand gleaming chariots 

Gather to a royal feast ; 
And a mellow, mystic radiance, 

Hangs upon the perfumed air, 
While the sound of soft, sweet music 

Drives away all thought of care. 

E'en this city's proudest children 

Look with rapture on the sight, 
While the throng of giddy dancers 

Glide beneath the tinted light. 
On the throne of dazzling splendor 

Now Chaldea's king reclines, 
While the goblets, gemmed and golden, 

Glow with rich and ruddy wines. 

And to still increase the splendor 

Of this glorious gala night, 
Glitter Judah's sacred vessels, 

Trophies of a heathen's might. 



376 FOX ONI AN SELECTIONS 

Round the walls of this grand city 
Now the Persian army slept, 

While their stern and gloomy sentries 
Long and weary vigils kept. 

But what care the gay Chaldeans 

With their walls of wondrous height ? 
What to them was haughty Cyrus 

In his silent, sullen might? 
While perchance some sleepless veteran 

In the darkened foeman camps 
Looked with eyes of wistful wonder 

On the many glimmering lamps; 

With their countless scintillations 

From the windows tall and wide, 
And their meteor-like reflections 

On the dark Euphrates' tide ; 
Or perchance some drowsy watcher 

Paused upon his lonely beat 
And in silence marked the timing 

Of the dainty tinkling fleet : 

Then resumed his measured pacing 

As a nigJit bird rustled by, 
Thinking on the mighty changes 

That must meet the morning's eye, — 
How the broad Euphrates River, 

Wakened from his stony bed, 
Would move on in frightful grandeur 

Through a city of the dead. 



FOXONIAN SELECTIONS tfj 

But what recks the king Assyrian 

On his gorgeous golden throne, 
'Mid the sound of music swelling 

With its rich, voluptuous tone ; 
'Mid the fairest of earth's daughters, 

Decked with gems from land and sea ; 
With his throngs of glittering satraps 

Ever prompt to bend the knee ? 

Lightly laughs the Assyrian ruler, 

Little doth he dream of harm ; 
Sweetly smiles yon lovely maiden, 

Leaning on her lover's arm. 
Hark ! How silent are the minstrels ! 

See! This proud assemblage quail! 
And the godlike King, Belshazzar, 

Turneth strangely, ghastly pale. 

For along those walls palatial 

There a ghostly hand doth write 
In a dark and unknown language 

Words that freeze the very sight. 
Many a deeply skilled magician, 

With his weary, restless eyes, 
And, in turn, each wise old seer, 

Now the spectral problem tries. 

But in vain their conjurations ; 

Still those flaming letters stand, 
On the grand old walls emblazoned, 

Written by God's own right hand. 



378 FOX ON IAN SELECTIONS 

" Bring the Hebrew captive hither," 
Then the trembling monarch cried, 

" Since the wise of all Chaldea 
By these letters are defied." 

See ! Judea's prophet enters 

'Mid that pale and trembling throng, 
'Mid those walls that late reechoed 

With the sound of dance and song. 
" Hebrew captive," spake the monarch, 

" If this writing thou canst read, 
Costly robe and kingly honors 

Will I give to thee as meed." 

" I ask no honors, trembling monarch ; 

What to me this heathen land, 
One of many children chastened 

By a father's loving hand ? 
But, Belshazzar, king Assyrian, 

With thy broad and rich domains, 
With thy countless heathen altars 

And thy strange unholy fanes, 

" 'Tis to thee that this comes greeting, 

Penned by high Jehovah's hand, 
At whose throne the angels worship 

In full many a white-robed band. 
Lo ! thy days of might are numbered, 

And ere morning dawns again 
Thou with many a loyal subject 

Wilt be counted with the slain. 



FOXONIAN SELECTIONS 379 

" In the balance of High Heaven 

Hath thy wanting soul been weighed 
By great Alpha and Omega, 

By the Maker of all made* 
Lo ! thy kingdom shall be given 

To the Persian and the Mede ; 
Thus, O haughty heathen monarch, 

Doth this dreadful writing read." 

Dreary silence holds dominion 

Through those grandly lighted halls, 
And the noise of trampling horsemen 

On the drowsy night air falls. 
Loudly wake the sounds of conflict 

As the pale stars softly wane ; 
Medes and Persians hold Chaldea, 

And Belshazzar's with the slain. 

Canst thou tell me, smiling skeptic, 

Why no longer as of yore 
Doth the weary Arab rest him 

On the dark Euphrates shore ? 
Yes ! A pool of stagnant blackness 

Sleeps where Babylon once stood, 
And the raven and foul lapwing 

Lave their pinions in its flood. 

For the sailors hold their revels 

Where once lordly feasts were held, 

And the slimy adder hisses 

In the place where music swelled. 



380 FOXONIAN SELECTIONS 

List, and thou wilt hear the angels 
As they worship, one by one 

Say, " O God, in earth and heaven 
May .Thy holy will be done." 

THE STRIKE OF ST. NICHOLAS 

'Twas the night before Christmas, and all through our 

flat, 
Not a soul was asleep, save the night-watchman, Pat. 
The children sat up in their small folding beds, 
With grave intellectual doubts in their heads ; 
For though, half-ashamed, they had hung up their hose 
On the steam radiator — "Why, nobody knows," 
Said the dear little cynics, " if that old, ridic- 
ulous person exists, whom we christened St. Nick ! " 
So mamma, in her bloomers, was lurking in wait 
To fill up the socks, if St. Nick, who seemed late, 
Should fail to appear, when — heavens, the clatter! 
We flung up the sash to look into the matter. 
The arc light that streamed on the asphalt below 
(The careful contractors had cleaned off the snow) 
Showed — who but St. Nicholas, struggling to check 
An automobile, in its pathway of wreck ! 
He whistled and shouted, in what I deemed Dutch, 
Then dropped into English : "Yes, this is too much!" 
As the automobile, with a curve and a crash, 
Struck a telegraph pole, in a grand, final smash ; 
And the sleepy Pat Kelly was summoned to pick 
Up the wide-scattered toys of the wrathful St. Nick ! 



FOXONIAN SELECTIONS 38 1 

His eyes, how they flashed ! He looked far from 

merry ; 
His dimples were gone, and his lips, like a cherry, 
Looked more like persimmons — the odd little elf ! 
I laughed at his anger, in spite of myself. 
His heaving form shook like a bowlful of jelly, 
As he viewed the poor toys gathered up by Pat Kelly. 
" 'Tis my final appearance ! " he cried, while, aghast, 
The children looked on ; "positively, the last ! 
For the sake of the youngsters, I've kept well abreast 
With the march of the times, as your science progressed. 
First, new-fangled heaters, that forced me to diet, 
Down tortuous stovepipes to crawl on the quiet ; 
Then, roofs so unsafe, with their angles and slopes, 
I hauled up my reindeer with derricks and ropes ; 
And when you put steam pipes in place of the stove, — 
A tax on my saintly endurance, by Jove ! — 
My old legs, lest the children their Christmas should 

lack, 
Toiled up all your stairs with this huge peddler's pack ! 
I won't say a word of your spirit of doubt, 
Though it's spoiled half my pleasure in going about ; 
For your twentieth-century world spins so fast, 
My faith in myself is not fitted to last ; — 
But you clean off my snow ! And when I endeavor 
By automobile to arrive, as prompt as ever, 
I'm ravaged and ruined, and routed and wrecked 
By your telegraph poles, and, for once, / object /" 
He shouldered his pack, whilst the children shed tears, 



382 FOX ONI AN SELECTIONS 

And called, in retreating : " Can't help it, my dears ! 
Go, publish the news in the press, if you like : 
St. Nick has gone — on a permanent strike ! " 
He vanished, his finger aside of his nose, 
Unheeding a townful of ready-hung hose ; 
With sarcastic salute, as he faded from sight, 
" Merry Christmas to all, and forever, good night ! " 
— Louise Betts Edwards, in Truth. 

[By special permission of the publishers.] 
KING CHRISTMAS AND MASTER NEW YEAR 

King Christmas sat in his house of ice 
And looked across the snow. 
" Hallo, my little man ! " he cried, 
" Now whither dost thou go ? " 

" I go, my Lord, along the way 
That all my kin have gone, 
Where thou, my Lord, shalt follow me 
Before another dawn." 

" Right gayly," cried the Christmas King. 
" Who rides to-night with thee ? " 
"The days of grief, the days of joy, 
Are they who ride with me." 

" God keep thee, merry little man ; 
Go whisper them that mourn 
How surely comes again the day 
When Christ the Lord was born. 



FOX ONI AN SELECTIONS 383 

" And be not sad, my little man, 
But when thou too art old 
And o'er the wintry wastes you come, 
A weary man and cold, 

" Right cheerily I pray thee then 
To keep this gracious tryst, 
And leave thy weary burden here 
Where cares grow light, with Christ. 

" Now bid thy gallant company 
Ride onward without fear, 
For I, the King of Christmas, 
Have blessed the glad New Year." 

— S. Weir Mitchell 

A DAY OF SORROW FOR SANTA CLAUS 

The snowbirds carried a message to old Santa Claus in 
his den, 

That the world was to hold a convention, an assembly of 
truth-loving men, 

To depose the dear old Santa Claus his place in the chil- 
dren's hearts, 

To block the wheels in his workshop, whence came dolls, 
toy horses, and carts. 

Poor old Santa's face changed sadly, the smile that we 

all love so well 
Gave place to deep lines of sorrow, and big tears on his 

fur coat fell, — 



384 FOXONIAN SELECTIONS 

" Could it be that these people, once children, as you and 

I to-day, 
Had forgotten their love for Santa Claus, their delight 

at his pranks so gay ? 

"Could he nevermore harness his reindeer and speed 

o'er the housetops high ? 
No slipping down blackened chimneys, the little folks' 

wants to supply ? 
Is this the result of love's labor in their happy youthful 

days ? 
Have they buried the memory of childhood 'neath the 

weight of worldly ways ? 

" Is there no one on earth to champion the cause of the 

children's friend ? 
Must the boys and girls I love so well no more dear 

letters send ? 
What is the use of chimneys if down them I cannot 

climb ? 
Shall the fairies, brownies, and goblins be heard of no 

more in rhyme ? 

" Those people must be dyspeptics — their digestion most 

certainly bad, 
To take joy away from their children and make them 

so lonely and sad." 
But hark ! He hears flutter of wings at the door of his 

den — 
There is joy in the song of the snowbirds, and he gladly 

lets them in. 



FOXONIAN SELECTIONS 385 

The fathers, mothers, uncles, aunts, and grandmas said, 

"No! 
We all love dear old Santa Claus, we cannot let him go." 
As he hears the joyful verdict his face is one broad 

smile, 
And he calls for his sleigh and reindeer, and speeds 

away mile after mile. 

So, children, whatever he leaves you, is bestowed with a 

happier heart, 
For he knows it is death to his jolly old self if from you 

he ever should part. 
And when you are men and women, remember his sorrow 

that day, 
And don't attend any convention that would banish dear 

Santa away. 

ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO 

The Christmas bells were pealing thro' the frosty mid- 
night air, 

The great Yule logs were burning, and the hearty 
Christmas cheer 

On the ample board was ready for the Squire and his 
guests, 

While the lackeys, laced and powdered, waited for their 
lord's behests. 

In the brilliant, crowded ballroom — where a thousand 
tapers shone — 

The Squire and his partner danced a measure all alone. 



386 FOX ONI AN SELECTIONS 

Holly leaves and ivy garlands glistened in the candle- 
light, 

Silks and satins and fair faces made a gay and goodly 
sight; 

But the Squire thought, of all the fair, the very fairest 
yet, 

Was Margery, the dainty maid who danced the min- 
uet. 

To the stately, graceful music — on the polished oaken 

floor — 
The Squire and his sweetheart danced the measure o'er 

and o'er, 
Till he led his blushing partner just beneath the mistle- 
toe 
And — stole a kiss that Christmas Eve, a hundred years 

ago. 
True love is like the lavender, whose perfume, faint and 

rare, 
Will linger in its blossoms even when they're dry and 

sear ; 
And the memory of that courtship and the kiss so fairly 

won, 
Wake in hearts a chord of kinship, though so many 

years have gone. 
For now sweet Mistress Margery, " the toast" at every 

ball, 
And the gay and gallant Squire are but — pictures on 

the wall. 



FOX ONI AN SELECTIONS 387 

The Margerys of our day are every whit as fair 
As those that danced the minuet in puffed and pow- 
dered hair ; 
And though the Squires of days gone by were brave and 

fine to see, 
In this dear land to-day we find no lack of chivalry. 
Though buckled shoes and 'broidered coats are " in the 

mode " no more, 
And days of courtly compliment, and powdered hair, 

are o'er — 
True knighthood and nobility are not yet obsolete, 
And even in these busy days our hearts have time to 

beat, 
And tongues, at Cupid's prompting, tell their tales of 

tender passion — 
You'll find in every century that Love is still the 

fashion ! 

Then ring the Christmas bells again, with holly deck the 

walls, 
Let happy faces crowd the board and fill the festive 

halls ! 
The mistletoe is out of date, and kisses are forbidden, — 
A modern Squire for such a theft would be severely 

chidden, — 
But then the sweetest roses always bloom just out of 

reach ; 
'Tis ever on the topmost bough you spy the rarest 

peach. 



388 FOX ONI AN SELECTIONS 

The fiddle plays a merry tune, light feet are keeping 

time, 
And gayly goes the two-step waltz until the midnight 

chime. 
Ah ! hearts are young and gay but once — so come when 

Pleasure calls ! 
For by and by we too shall be but — pictures on the 

walls. 

THAT LITTLE CHRISTMAS TREE 

It was a little Christmas tree, with candles all aglow, 
And golden balls and silver stars, a bright and shining 

row. 
The children danced around it, and clapped their hands 

with glee ; 
And not a child was happier than the little Christmas 

tree. 

But next week, stripped of all its gifts and cast into the 

yard, 
It murmured with a little sigh : " Now, surely this is 

hard! 
To give delight for but that night, and then to be forgot, 
Would seem to be for any tree a most unhappy lot ! " 

But Ned and Ted and little Fred soon spied it where it 

lay. 
"Hurrah!" they cried, "A mast! A mast! We'll 

sail and sail away, 



F OXONIAN SELECTIONS 389 

And far across the Arctic seas our gallant ship shall 

go, 
To find the seals, and polar bears, and jolly Eskimo." 

A plank their ship, a sheet their sail, the happy tree 

their mast, 
These bold explorers northward turned, and sailed away 

so fast, 
That soon o'er unknown lands there waved the banner 

of the free ; 
The staff that proudly bore it was the little Christmas 

tree. 

What afterward befell it would take me long to tell : 
It once became a fairy wood, where elves and dryads 

dwell ; 
And once a prancing, coal-black steed, with a noble 

knight astride ; 
And once a dark and gloomy cave, where bears and lions 

hide. 

But when, one day, there wandered by a ragged, shiver- 
ing boy, 

He saw the little Christmas tree and dragged it home 
with joy. 

A merry blaze he kindled, with its welcome warmth and 
shine, 

And the cold bare room was fragrant with the odor of 
the pine. — Helen S. Perkins. 



390 FOX ONI AN SELECTIONS 



CHRISTMAS GREETING 



Stop ! Look, my brothers, see that brilliant star ; 

Low in the heavens, how it shines afar ! 

Look how it sparkles like a diadem, 

It tells — " Christ is born away in Bethlehem." 

Glory to God in the highest ; 

On earth peace, good will toward men, 

For Christ is born for us to-day 

In the city of Bethlehem. 

Come, let us journey to that far-off land 
And search out the Christ sent by God's own hand. 
Quick ! Let us hasten, and soon we shall see 
The Christ born to-day in far-off Judea. 

See ! See ! my brother, the star moves before ; 
True, God is with us in life's sinful war. 
Now comes a Saviour who the way will show ; 
We will the battle win, so onward go. 

Now here's the city, and where is our Lord ? 
See the star, it moves, it shows us the road, 
Here in this manger, cradled in Mother's arms, 
The Christ Child Saviour shielded from all harm. 

Here is salvation. Oh ! shout the glad song ; 
Pour out the incense on the little form ; 
Tell to the people that the Saviour's come ; 
Shout, shout Hosanna ! Christ the Saviour's born. 

— Frank S. Fox. 



FOXONIAN SELECTIONS 39 1 

THE MARRIAGE OF SANTA CLAUS 

Once Santa Claus sobered and said, with a sigh, 

While a tear added luster to each twinkling eye, 

" Oh ! I'm getting so lonely and weary of life, 

I need a companion, or, better, a wife ; 

But where could I find one to share my joy, 

And love, as I love, every girl and each boy." 

He thought and he pondered, this jolly recluse, 

Then he shouted, " I have it ; 'tis Old Mother Goose." 

He was off in a jiffy, he whistled, his sled 

O'er the snow like the flight of a sky-rocket sped, 

And his reindeers snorted, with heads high and haughty, 

And trotted along at the rate of two-forty. 

So he found the old lady, of course, very soon — 

She had just returned from a trip to the moon, 

And was fixing her cap, slightly mussed by the ride, 

While the cobwebs were thick in the broom by her side. 

She was old, she was weazened, she had a great nose, 

Yet her eyes were as bright as the plumage of crows, 

And her voice, tho' 'twas cracked, had a ring very 

sweet, 
And her dress, tho' 'twas queer, was most awfully neat. 
And Santa Claus blushed as he said, " How d'ye do ? " 
The dame courtesied low, and replied, " Sir, to you." 
" Will you have me ? " he prays ; " my darling, confess." 
She hesitates, murmurs, and then whispers, " Yes — 
But my children ! " she cries, with the usual pause, 
" Why, children, I love 'em," said bluff Santa Claus. 



392 FOXONIAN SELECTIONS 

" Bring 'em out — where are they ? I want 'em ! " 

cries he, 
So forth troop they all in a great company, 
First comes a fair maiden, and know her we should, 
By the wolf and her granny — 'tis Red Riding Hood; 
While after them, fearfully blowing his horn, 
Is little Boy Blue on his way from the corn; 
And the notes of the music he sweetly doth play 
Brings the piper's son Tom, from the hills far away. 
And then with a jump and a roll down the hill, 
With pails and with water bounce poor Jack and Jill ; 
Their crowns were both broken and help they implore 
From Old Mother Hubbard and Margery Daw. 
And forth from her garden in a way quite contrary, 
With fruits and with flowers, comes sweet Mistress 

Mary. 
Then Simon the Simple returns from the fair 
With the pie-man, most cautious in selling his ware ; 
While dragging their tails behind them flock in the 

sheep 
Of the wandering shepherdess, Little Bo-Peep. 
A very old woman lugs up a great shoe, 
And out jump her children, a boisterous crew ; 
Some sing and some dance and some of them play 
"The Mulberry Bush" and " Rain, Rain, go away." 
But one little boy slinks off in a corner 
And munches a pie — 'tis greedy Jack Horner ; 
While poor Tommy Tucker expects some in vain, 
And bewails his fate with Tom Grace, who's in pain. 



FOXONIAN SELECTIONS 393 

But music hath charms, and they list to the song 

Of that jolly musician, the young Richard Long; 

Then Old King Cole and his fiddlers three 

Bring up the rear of this vast company. 

" They are just what I want," shouts Old Santa Claus, 

Mother Goose and her children ring out their applause ; 

" Now all jump aboard — our new home to explore, 

On my sled there has ever been room for one more." 

With shouts and with laughter they tumbled within 

And wrapped buffalo robes close beneath every chin. 

The reindeer they galloped, the moon shone out bright, 

As they hurried along in its soft silver light, 

And the fat, jolly driver chuckled often in glee, 

At the sight of his wife and his vast family. 

And the songs of the children rang out in the air, 

As they journeyed along, disregarding all care, 

Till they reached the great palace and through it they 

roam, 
And forever are happy within their new home. 



THE FATAL ROAD 

Dark was the night ; the snow and blinding sleet 
Rode on the shrieking hurricane down the street 
Of a Yorkshire hamlet. 'Twas Christmas tide — 
Who cared for the tempest ? The glad fireside 
Seemed all the brighter because of its roar ; 
Sung were old songs again, old stories told once more. 



394 FOX ONI AN SELECTIONS 

Bright picture ! yes, but look if you please again, — 

A low thatched cottage — just peep through that pane. 

I see a woman, a child, a flickering fire — 

Listen, the little one cries — but louder, higher 

Shouted the storm fiend. " I thought," said the child, 

" I heard papa's step — oh, it's awful wild. 

Why don't he come home ? " Shivering, she sighed, 

As the gale drove the snow that Christmas tide. 

" Don't take on so, don't cry, mamma dear ; 

I'll bring him home, if he's there, never fear." 

And where was her father that Christmas night ? 

At the village inn, and his heart was light. 

No sad thoughts of home, of his child or wife, 

Came to annoy him. How jolly his life ! 

" Drink up, lads," he shouted, " old Christmas is here, 

And Christmas, you know, only comes once a year." 

A knock at the door — " Who's there ? " " Only me. 

Is my papa here, please ? " "Aye," he shouted in glee. 

" That's my Bessie — Come in, lass, thou'lt be blown 

away ; 
A rum night is this, for a Christmas day." 
They laughed as they joked, then the child on his knee 
Whispered, " Papa, I've come for you, come home with 

me. 
The fire's going out, and we have no wood." 
He set the child down and then staggering stood 
While he quaffed his last glass. " Right, Bessie, all right ; 
I'm coming, my pretty. Good night, lads, good night." 



FOXONIAN SELECTIONS 395 

He reeled through the doorway, and took the child's 

hand — 
His brain was on fire, he fancied a band 
Of wild yelling demons were fast drawing near. 
He caught up the child and fled, trembling with fear ; 
Down the street, past his home, o'er the common's wild 

track, 
Stumbling he panted, then paused and looked back. 
" On, on they come." He dashed through a stream, 
Then mounting a hillock, turned, uttered a scream — 
" Come on, devils all, you may run, jump, or fly ; 
I'll cheat you. We'll die, lass ; my Bessie, good-by." 
He picked up a bowlder and beat the child's head — 
"I've done it," he shouted. "She's dead — look, fair 

dead." 
A torpor then seized him — he sank in the snow. 
The wind whistled wildly — the brook down below 
Flowed on to the river. All through the dark night 
The villagers searched, but in vain. Morning's light 
Revealed a child's hat. A track was soon found 
Which led to the father, his arms clasped 'round 
The corpse of his child, with face to the sky. 
Was it better to wake him, or leave him to die ? 
" Why, wake him, of course," stern justice replies, 
" Can I see murder done here before my own eyes ? 
'Tis true he will die if we leave him alone, 
But that's not our method — no, let him atone 
For his crime in the full light of day, 
And hang till he's dead in the regular way. 



396 FOXONIAN SELECTIONS 

That's justice's justice I'd have you all know. 
Now shake him, he's shamming. Hello, sir, hello. 
He coughs, ah, he's broken a blood vessel. Good, 
He'll waken up now — there, I told you he would." 
The father glared wildly — " Kind folk, where am I ? 
I've been dreaming, I fancied my Bessie came by." 
Then turning his eyes to where the child lay ; 
" Oh, God, why she's here, I must take her away." 
He raised himself slowly, then upright he stood 
And saw the pale forehead all spattered with blood. 
"Am I waking or dreaming, good people," he said, 
" That can't be my Bessie, my Bessie, there — dead ! 
Ah, you're playing some lark, you, I know, 
That's a dummy you've dressed up and stuck in the 

snow. 
How you stare at me, what is that lying down there ? " 
He knelt by her side, pushed back the bright hair — 
"Why, it is thee, why, Bessie, what's this, what dost 

ail, 
This blood on thy forehead, thy cheek cold and 

pale ? 
Oh, thou cannot be dead, lass, 'tis all my poor brain, 
Speak — speak to me, tell me you love me again." 
He kissed the lips fondly. " God help thee, thou'rt 

cold." 
He took off his jacket the corpse to enfold, 
The truth flashed upon him. " I killed her," he said. 
"I was mad, God forgive me." — He fell — he was 

dead. 



FOX ONI AN SELECTIONS 397 

SANTA CLAUS IN THE MINES 

In a small cabin in a California mining town, away 
up amid the snow-clad, rock-bound peaks of the Sierra 
Nevada Mountains, sat a woman in widow's weeds, 
holding upon her knee a bright-eyed, sunny-faced little 
girl about five years old, while a little cherub of a boy 
lay upon a bearskin before the open fireplace. It 
was Christmas Eve, and the woman sat gazing abstract- 
edly into the fireplace. She was yet young, and as the 
glowing flames lit up her sad face they invested it with 
a weird beauty. 

Mary Stewart was the widow of Aleck Stewart, and 
but two years before they had lived comfortably and 
happy, in a camp on the American River. Aleck was 
a brawny miner, but the premature explosion of a blast 
in an underground tunnel had blotted out his life in an 
instant, leaving his family without a protector, and in 
straitened circumstances. His daily wages had been 
their sole support, and now that he was gone, what 
could they do? 

With her little family, Mrs. Stewart had emigrated to 
the camp in which we find them, and there she earned 
a precarious livelihood by washing clothes for the 
miners. Hers was a hard lot, but the brave little 
woman toiled on, cheered by the thought that her daily 
labors stood between her darling little ones and the 
gaunt wolf of starvation. 

Jack Dawson, a strong, honest miner, was passing 



398 FOXONIAN SELECTIONS 

the cabin this Christmas Eve, when the voice of the 
little girl within attracted his attention. Jack possessed 
an inordinate love for children, and although his manly 
spirit would abhor the sneaking practice of eaves- 
dropping, he could not resist the temptation to steal up 
to the window just a moment, to listen to the sweet, 
prattling voice. The first words he caught were : — 

" Before papa died we always had Christmas, didn't 
we, mamma ? " 

" Yes, Totty, darling; but papa earned money enough 
to afford to make his little pets happy, at least once a 
year. You must remember, Totty, that we are very 
poor, and although mamma works very, very hard, she 
can scarcely earn enough to supply us with food and 
clothes." 

Jack Dawson still lingered upon the outside. He 
could not leave, although he felt ashamed of himself for 
listening. 

" We hung up our stockings last Christmas, didn't we, 
mamma ? " continued the little girl. 

" Yes, Totty ; but we were poor then, and Santa Claus 
never notices real poor people. He gave you a little 
candy, then, just because you were such good children." 

" Is we any poorer now, mamma ? " 

" Oh, yes, much poorer. He would never notice us 
at all now." 

Jack Dawson detected a tremor of sadness in the 
widow's voice as she uttered the last words, and he 
wiped a suspicious dampness from his eyes. 



FOXONIAN SELECTIONS 399 

" Where's our clean stockings, mamma ? I'm going 
to hang mine up, anyhow. Maybe he will come like he 
did before, just because we try to be good children," 
said Totty. 

" It will be no use, my darling, I am sure he will not 
come," and tears gathered in the mother's eyes as she 
thought of her empty purse. 

" I don't care, I'm going to try, anyhow. Please get 
one of my stockings, mamma." 

Jack Dawson's generous heart swelled until it seemed 
bursting from his bosom. He heard the patter of little 
bare feet upon the cabin floor as Totty ran about, hunt- 
ing hers and Benny's stockings, and after she had hung 
them up, heard her sweet voice again as she wondered 
over and over if Santa really would forget them. He 
heard the mother, in a choking voice, tell her treasures 
to get ready for bed, heard them lisp their childish 
prayers, the little girl concluding, " And, O Lord ! 
please tell good Santa Claus that we are very poor, 
but that we love him as much as rich children do, for 
dear Jesus' sake — Amen ! " 

After they were in bed, through a small rent in the 
plain white curtain he saw the widow sitting before the 
fire, her face buried in her hands, and weeping bitterly. 
On a peg, just over the fireplace, hung two little patched 
and faded stockings, — and then he could stand it no 
longer. He softly moved away from the window to the 
rear of the cabin, where some objects fluttering to the 
wind met his eye. Among these he searched until he 



400 FOX ONI AN SELECTIONS 

found a little blue stocking which he removed from the 
line, folded it tenderly, and placed it in his overcoat 
pocket, and then set out for the main street of the camp. 
He entered Harry Hawk's gambling hall, the largest in 
the place, where a host of miners and gamblers were at 
play. Jack was well known in the camp, and when he 
got up on a chair and called for attention, the hum of 
voices and clicking of ivory checks suddenly ceased. 
Then, in an earnest voice, he told what he had seen and 
heard, repeating every word of the conversation be- 
tween the mother and her children. In conclusion, he 
said : — 

" Boys, I think I know you — every one of you — an' 
I know jist what kind o' metal yer made of. I've an 
idee that Santa Claus knows jist whar that cabin's siti- 
wated, an' I've an idee he'll find it afore mornin.' 
Hyar's one of the little gal's stock'n's thet I hooked 
off'n the line. The daddy o' them little ones was a 
good, hard-working miner, an' he crossed the range in 
the line o' duty, jist as any one of us is liable to do in 
our dangerous business. Hyar goes a twenty-dollar 
piece right down in the toe, and hyar I lay the stockin* 
on this card table. Now chip in, much or little, as ye 
kin afford." 

Brocky Clark, a gambler, left the table, picked the 
little stocking up carefully, looked at it tenderly, and 
when he laid it down another twenty had gone into the 
toe to keep company with the one placed there by 
Dawson. 



FOXONIAN SELECTIONS . 401 

Another and another came up until the foot of the 
stocking was well filled, and then came the cry from the 
gambling tables : — 

" Pass her around, Jack." 

At the word he lifted it from the table and started 
around the hall. Before he had circulated it at half a 
dozen tables it showed signs of bursting beneath the 
weight of gold and silver coin, and a strong coin bag, 
such as he used for sending treasure by express, was 
procured and the stocking placed inside of it. The 
round of the large hall was made, and in the meantime 
the story had spread all over the camp. From the 
various saloons came messages, saying : — 

" Send the stockin' 'round the camp. Boys are 
a-waitin' for it ! " 

With a party at his heels, Jack went from saloon to 
saloon. Games ceased and tipplers left the bars as they 
entered each place, and miners, gamblers, speculators — 
everybody — crowded up to tender their Christmas 
gifts to the miner's widow and orphans. Any one who 
has lived in the far Western camps and is acquainted 
with the generosity of Western men will feel no sur- 
prise or doubt of my truthfulness, when I say that, after 
the round had been made, the little blue stocking and 
the heavy canvas bag contained over eight thousand 
dollars in gold and silver coin. 

Horses were procured, and a party dispatched to the 
larger town down on the Consumnes, from which they 
returned near daybreak with toys, clothing, provisions, 



402 FOX ONI AN SELECTIONS 

etc., in almost endless variety. Arranging their gifts in 
proper shape, and securely tying the mouth of the bag 
of coin, the party noiselessly repaired to the widow's 
humble cabin. The bag was first laid on the step, and 
the other articles piled in a heap over it. On the top 
was laid the lid of a large pasteboard box, on which 
was written, with a piece of charcoal : — 

" Santa Clause doesn't always Giv poor Folks The 
Cold Shoulder in This camp." 

Christmas dawned bright and beautiful. 

Mrs. Stewart arose, and a shade of pain crossed 
her handsome face as the empty little stockings 
caught her maternal eye. She cast a hurried glance 
toward the bed where her darlings lay sleeping, and 
whispered : — ; 

" O God ! how dreadful is poverty ! " 

She built a glowing fire, set about preparing the 
frugal breakfast, and when it was almost ready she 
approached the bed, kissed the little ones until they 
were wide awake, and lifted them to the floor. With 
eager haste Totty ran to the stockings, only to turn 
away, sobbing as though her heart would break. Tears 
blinded the mother, and clasping her little girl to her 
heart, she said, in a choking voice : — 

" Never mind, my darling, next Christmas I am sure 
mamma will be richer, and then Santa Claus will bring 
us lots of nice things." 

" O mamma ! " 

The exclamation came from little Benny, who had 



FOXONIAN SELECTIONS 403 

opened the door and was standing gazing in amazement 
upon the wealth of gifts there displayed. 

Mrs. Stewart sprang to his side and looked in speech- 
less astonishment. She read the card, and then, caus- 
ing her little ones to kneel down with her in the open 
doorway, she poured out her soul in a torrent of praise 
and thanksgiving to God. 

Jack Dawson's burly form moved from behind a tree 
a short distance away, and sneaked off up the gulch, 
great crystal tears chasing each other down his face. 

The family arose from their knees, and began to move 
the stores into the room. There were several sacks of 
flour, hams, canned fruits, pounds and pounds of coffee, 
tea, and sugar ; new dress goods, and a handsome, warm 
woolen shawl for the widow ; shoes, stockings, hats, 
mittens, and clothing for the children ; a great big wax 
doll, that could cry and move its eyes, for Totty, and a 
beautiful red sled for Benny. All were carried inside 
amidst alternate laughs and tears. 

"Bring in the sack of salt, Totty, and that is all," said 
the mother. " Is not God good to us ? " 

" I can't lift it, mamma, it's frozen to the step ! " 

The mother stooped and took hold of it and lifted 
harder and harder, until she raised it from the step. 
Her cheek blanched as she noted its great weight, and 
breathlessly she carried it in and laid it upon the break- 
fast table. With trembling fingers she loosened the 
string and emptied the contents upon the table. Gold 
and silver — more than she had ever thought of in her 



404 FOX ONI AN SELECTIONS 

wildest dreams of comfort and almost buried in the pile 
of treasure lay Totty's little blue stocking. 

We will not intrude longer upon such happiness, but 
leave the joyful family sounding praises to Heaven and 
Santa Claus. — Anon. 



A DREAM SONG 

Lullaby, hushaby, hasten away, 
Little pink pilgrim, till dawn of the day ; 
Slow swings the cradle, but swift is the flight 
Lullaby, hushaby, baby, good-night. 

Over the bridges of Slumberland's streams, 
Lies the most wonderful Garden of Dreams ; 
Short is the journey, and soft is the sod, 
Down by the valleys of Drowsy and Nod. 

Daisies and violets peep through the grass, 
Buttercups beckon and bow as you pass ; 
Tiny dream fairies in tunics of blue 
Bring sweetest dreams in the garden for you. 

Lullaby, hushaby, hasten away 
Over the bridges till dawn of the day ; 
Short is the journey to hours of delight — 
Lullaby, hushaby, baby, good-night. 



INDEX TO THEORY 

PAGE 

Accent . c ■ . . . . 153 

Articulation 76 

Breathing 16 

Climax and Cadence . . . . . . . . .186 

Emphasis . 65 

Enunciation . . . . . . . . . . 175 

Gesture Study 202 

Inflection . . . . c . . . . . .115 

Melody 193 

Modulation 108 

Movement . . . . . . . . . . .145 

Pauses 49 

Personation or Character Sketching ....... 254 

Pitch of the Elementary Sounds . . . . . . .104 

Pitch of Voice in Speaking . . . . . . . .120 

Pronunciation « I 7 I 

Quantity or Time . .178 

Rate 131 

Rhythm 160 

Stammering and Stuttering 97 

Standing Position • . . . • 37 

405 



406 INDEX TO THEORY 

PAGE 

Stress and Force 167 

Syllabication 199 

Thought Center, The 5 

Thought Sentence, The ......... 3 

Thought Word, The ..." 5 

Voice Culture ...•'.. 31 



INDEX TO SELECTIONS 

PAGE 

Alps, The , 137 

American Life, The . . . . . . . . . 313 

Argument Pro 273 

Athens and Jerusalem 61 

Au Revoir „ 339 

Baby's Welcome 291 

Be Friends Now c 302 

Beautiful Snow, The . 152 

Brook, The 147 

Burial of Sir John Moore, The ....... 146 

Carpet-beatin' Fever 325 

Cato's Soliloquy on Immortality 128 

Christmas Greeting .......... 390 

Creeping up the Stairs 113 

Dachshund, The 332 

Dad's Old Breeches . 333 

Daily News 279 

Day of Sorrow for Santa Claus, A 383 

Dream Song, A 404 

Early Morning Call, An 275 

Engineers making Love 322 

Eternal Clockwork of the Skies 322 

Fatal Road, The 393 

Flitting 138 

Give us Men s .... • * .... 6 

Glory 12 

God's Wonders 124 

Gooses or Geese . 340 

407 



408 INDEX TO SELECTIONS 

PAGE 

Hidden Menace, The 352 

Industry Necessary to the Attainment of Eloquence xi 

In Memoriam of President McKinley 305 

King Christmas and Master New Year ...... 382 

Last Charge of Ney, The . . 256 

Later On 304 

Lilies of the Valley 297 

Little Christmas Tree, That 388 

Man's Mortality 289 

Marriage of Santa Claus, The 391 

Maybe You Do, But I Doubt It 335 

Me and Sally Ann 277 

Memorial Day, What Means It? 346 

Michael Casey's Description of the Fight with Oney Geigen . . 327 

Military Steeple Chase, The 140 

Mother's Advice, A 334 

My Fa and Me 344 

Natalis 303 

Nation's Security, The 319 

New Psalm of Life, The . . 342 

Niagara 283 

Ode to the Full Moon, An 296 

Old-time School Days . . . . 299 

One Hundred Years Ago 385 

Only a Step 285 

Opportunity 61 

Othello's Apology 149 

Our Baby Sister 3 QI 

Our National Patriotism 318 

Over the River 287 

Pauline 295 

Play, The . 303 



INDEX TO SELECTIONS 409 

PAGE 

Quarrel of Marmion and Douglas ....... 267 

Railroad Grammar 333 

Regret 59 

Rise above It 293 

Rizpah 269 

Sam's Letter 132 

Santa Claus in the Mines . . . 397 

Scene of Ruin, A 367 

Second Trial, A 260 

Since Pa shaved off His Whiskers . . . . . .281 

Sister's Best Feller 345 

Soul of a Butterfly, The 198 

Sparticus to the Gladiators 182 

Strike of St. Nicholas, The 380 

These Come Not Back 64 

Thread Joke, The 258 

To , with Apologies to Bryant ....... 329 

True Patriotism 306 

Two Confidences 337 

Veteran's Dead . 349 

Village Blacksmith, The 10 

Vocations 67 

Wayward Son, The 33 l 

What Imperialism Means ........ 309 

What Oratory Has Done . . . - . . . . .52 

When the Leaves are off the Trees 197 

Why Do We Vote 3 12 

Wonderin' of Home Folks, A 5^ 

Writing on the Wall, The . . . ' 375 



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